J LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 






* UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. ! 



MEMOIRS 



EMINENT PREACHERS 



FREEWILL BAPTIST DENOMINATION. 



SELAH HIBBARD BARRETT. 

MINISTER AND AUTHOR. 



How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good 
tidings!"— Isaiah lii: 7. 



RUTLAND, OHIO: . 



PUBLISHED BY SELAH HIBBABD BARRETT. 

'Vt- 



\ ■■•■ 



x • 



OF CONGRESS 
WASHINGTON 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by 

SELAH HIBBARD BARRETT, 

In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 

STEREOTYPED AT THE FRANKLIN TYPE FOUNDRY, CINCINNATI. 



PREFACE. 



The design of this book is to preserve, in a more durable 
form, brief but characteristic sketches of eminent deceased 
Freewill Baptist ministers. That it includes all who occupied 
prominent positions in the church and ministry, it is not pre- 
tended. Neither is it claimed that the selections have, in 
every case, been the most judicious. The history of some, 
especially the early "fathers," which would be interesting, 
can not be obtained ; hence, their history is necessarily passed 
over in silence ; but their record is on high. 

These memoirs, however, embrace the names of some of the 
first and most distinguished pioneer preachers in the denomi- 
nation, giving vivjxl accounts of their life-long experiences and 
labors in the ministry. Some of them were permitted to enjoy 
a long and useful ministry, while others were cut down in the 
morning of life, and in the beginning of their usefulness. 
Grouped together are those, too, who possessed different traits 
of character — the amiable, mild, child-like disciple of Christ, 
and the heroic, courageous veteran of the cross. In natural 
and acquired endowments, the most striking contrasts are 
observable. Some were illiterate, though possessing strong 
powers of intellect ; some were classically educated ; some 
possessed, physically speaking, robust constitutions, capable of 
enduring the hardships incident to their calling; some, on the 
other hand, had delicate health, which often incapacitated 
them from active service. Yet all were, more or less, blessed 
by the great Head of the church, and accomplished an incal- 
culable amount of good. 

A recital of the experiences and sufferings, toils and sacri- 
fices, failures and successes of those gone before, can not fail 

(iii) 



IV PEEFACE. 

to be instructive and useful to the ministry of the present 
day. Times have changed, opinions have changed; yet the 
work that God requires of his ministers is essentially the same. 
To be successful in the vineyard, it requires the same labor, 
and the same spirit of devotion to the cause of Christ. It is 
believed, also, that private members of the church will receive 
profit from the perusal of these pages; and, to the young 
especially, this work is commended as worthy of their consid- 
eration. 

For the materials of which this work is composed, we are 
principally indebted to the publications of the Freewill Baptist 
Printing Establishment. Several of the memoirs, however, 
were written expressly for the work, while several of the others 
have undergone more or less modification. Free use has been 
made of contributed articles, and the writer has been indis- 
posed to assume a relation to their contents much different 
from that of an editor; but, so numerous are the sources 
whence information has been derived, that it is impracticable 
to give due credit in every instance. Suffice it, therefore, to 
say, that we are under special obligations to all, from whom 
we have, in any way, received aid in the prosecution of the 
work. 

SELAH HIBBAED BARRETT. 
Rutland Ohio, January 1, 1874. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTEB 


' 


PAGE. 


I. 


Benjamin Randall, 


7 


II. 


Pelatiah Tingley, 


, 39 


III. 


John Buzzell, 


. 45 


IV. 


John Colby, 


. 55 


Y. 


Ephraim Stinchfield, 


. 64 


VI. 


Peter Clark, 


. 78 


VII. 


Enoch Place, 


. se 


VIII. 


George Lamb, . . 


101 


IX. 


Benjamin Thorn, 


111 


X. 


Samuel Burba nk, 


. 118 


XI. 


Martin Cheney, 


125 


XII. 


Samuel B. Dyer, 


133 


XIII. 


Samuel Hathorn, 


140 


XIV. 


David Dudley, . 


, 149 



(v) 



VI 


CONTENTS. 




CHAPTER. 




PAGE. 


XV. 


Richard M. Cary, . 


. 157 


XVI. 


David Marks, . 


. 171 


XVII. 


Elias Hutchins, 


. 185 


XVIII. 


Eli Noyes, D. D., 


. 196 


XIX. 


William Dick, 


. 205 


XX. 


Albanus K. Moulton, 


. .215 


XXI. 


Allen Brown, . 


. 223 


XXII. 


Elisha M. Tobie, 


i 230 


XXIII. 


Frederick Moulton, 


. 240 


XXIV. 


Isaac G. Davis, 


i 249 


XXV. 


Edmund March Tappan, 


. 253 


XXVI. 


Isaac Tirrell Packard, 


. 265 


XXVII. 


Milton McDonald, . 


. 273 


XXVIII. 


Austin Wakefield Aver^ 


% . 283 


XXIX. 


Reuben Varney Jenness, 


. 294 


XXX. 


Benjamin Burleigh Smiti 


I, . 299 



EMINENT PREACHERS. 



CHAPTER I. 

BENJAMIN RANDALL. 

The Randall family was of English origin. 
Sometime after the year 1700, a Mr. Randall, born 
in England, came to New Castle, New Hampshire, 
an island at the mouth of Piscataqua River, contain- 
ing four hundred and fifty-eight acres. It was early 
settled, and was a part of Portsmouth until 1693, 
when it was incorporated as a separate town. Be- 
fore this time it was called Great Island. It was 
formerly a place of considerable business, containing 
several stores and some public buildings. There 
some of the Provincial Governors, Judges, and other 
officers resided. There the Provincial Assembly 
held their sessions, and there, too, was the main fort 
for the defense of Portsmouth. Much of the land 
is rough and rocky, but the soil is productive. 

Benjamin Randall, son of the above, was born in 
this place, January 13, 1726. He married Miss 
Marden, also born in New Castle, October 17, 1730. 
He was a sea-captain ; but at a late period in life 
moved to Ossipee, where he died, June 21, 1790, 
aged sixty-four, and was buried in New Durham. 
They had several children. One daughter lived in 

(7) 



8 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

Ossipee, another in Standish, Maine, and another in 
Effingham, New Hampshire. A son, named Jacob, 
resided in Saco. Another was Rev. Benjamin Ran- 
dall, the subject of this sketch and founder of the 
Freewill Baptist Denomination, who was born in 
New Castle, February 7, 1749. 

Although common schools were established in 
every town in New Hampshire, they were of a low 
grade compared with those of the present day. As 
Captain Randall was unable to send his children 
abroad to be educated, Benjamin's opportunities for 
early literary pursuits were rather limited. But 
possessing a faculty for acquiring knowledge, he 
overcame these obstacles, and through dint of appli- 
cation, he obtained what was then called a good 
mercantile education. 

When not more than nine years of age, he accom- 
panied his father to sea, and, for nine years follow- 
ing, this was his principal employment. But his 
tastes and inclinations led him in a different direc- 
tion, and he at length became so disgusted with sea- 
faring life that he entreated his father to put him 
to a trade. His request was granted, and at the age 
of eighteen he engaged, as an apprentice, with a sail- 
maker in Portsmouth, which was then the largest 
town in the State. He remained here three years, 
carefully improving the advantages afforded him. 
When twenty-one years of age, he returned to New 
Castle, and the next year, 1771, he was married to 
Miss Joanna Oram, a daughter of Mr. Robert Oram, 
a native of England, but now a resident of Kittery, 
Maine, just across the river from New Castle. 



BENJAMIN RANDALL. 9 

Such was his early and religious training that he 
was the subject of strong religious impressions. He 
never indulged in profanity ; for it was repulsive to 
his high sense of propriety. He observed stated 
seasons for fasting and prayer, and was a regular 
attendant on Sabbath worship. True, he sometimes 
engaged in dancing and other amusements; but he 
often saw the folly of his life and the emptiness of 
his religion. The reprovings of a guilty conscience 
often deterred him from his acts of devotion. Again, 
he would strive to live more circumspectly, and en- 
gage with more fervency in what he regarded relig- 
ious duties; and thought himself, at least, in a 
hopeful way for heaven. 

In the year 1770, that world-renowned servant 
of God, George Whitefield, made his last visit to 
America, and preached in Portsmouth. Randall, 
though much prejudiced against him, went to hear 
him, and the result was that he was much stirred 
up with opposition to him, his heart becoming more 
hardened with unbelief. But a few days after, upon 
the announcement of Whitefield's sudden death, at 
Newburyport, deep conviction fastened upon Ran- 
dall's heart, which terminated in true repentance 
and conversion. He had enrapturing views of God 
as his friend, of Christ as his Savior, of the atone- 
ment as free and full. He gave glory to God, and 
great peace filled his soul. This great change took 
place in his mind and feelings on the 15th of Octo- 
ber, 1770. 

The family altar was erected, and in November, 
1772, he and his wife united with the Congregational 



10 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

Church of his native town. In the course of three 
or four years, they had three children christened ; 
but, at length, finding the church in a corrupt state, 
and, on the whole, opposed to the life and power of 
religion, he with a few others set up a separate meet- 
ing. But his spirit was greatly crushed when he 
heard it reported, "Randall wants to be a preacher." 

Being convinced, in spite of his early education, 
that believers only were proper subjects of baptism 
and that by immersion, and, becoming dissatisfied 
with some of the doctrines of this church, he separ- 
ated himself from it in 1775. He now felt it his 
duty to be baptized; but there was no one in the 
vicinity to administer the ordinance. Some ten 
miles westerly, in Stratham, Dr. Shepherd, of Brent- 
wood, was preaching and baptizing. At first Ran- 
dall proposed to go there and attend to the ordi- 
nance ; but finding others in New Castle who wished 
baptism, it was proposed to send for an adminis- 
trator. Then learning that "William Hooper was to 
be ordained in Berwick, Maine, he with John Tre- 
fethren, a confidential friend, went some twenty 
miles to the ordination. After the service, which 
was on the 14th of August, 1776, Randall and three 
others were baptized, all of whom became ministers. 
The place of baptism was Salmon Falls River, near 
where is now Great Falls Village. 

Randall, now twenty-seven years of age, was in 
the full vigor and strength of manhood. Great was 
his happiness in submitting to this heaven -appointed 
rite. There was light from above and joy below, 
while the prayers of many devout hearts ascended 



BENJAMIN EANDALL. 11 

on high. The waters were lovely ; the waterfall, a 
little way off, seemed to praise God ; the birds, in 
the forest around, sang sweetly ; but those baptized 
praised more effectually. Randall joined the Bap- 
tist Church in Berwick, then comprising what is 
now the town with North Berwick and South Ber- 
wick. 

Randall's administrator, Rev. "William Hooper, 
was a native of Berwick, and was the first minister 
ordained as a Baptist in Maine. He preached some 
in Berwick, and much in Madbury, New Hampshire, 
where he died in 1827, aged eighty-two. It may 
be said that his family was Levitical, several being 
ministers. His brother James was a Baptist min- 
ister forty years at Paris, Maine. Rev. William 
Hooper's son, Noah, born in Berwick, was pastor 
at Cape Elizabeth and Lisbon, Maine, and then was 
stated supply in different places. A son of his is 
Rev. Noah Hooper, pastor of the Baptist Church in 
Exeter, New Hampshire, and has been a preacher 
nearly forty years. About two hundred and fifty 
years of service, in all, followed the baptism of Ran- 
dall and its connections, and is still unfinished in the 
person of Mr. Hooper, of Exeter, not reckoning one 
or two ministers who were descendants of Mr. Ran- 
dall. That baptism at Berwick, Maine, was a glo- 
rious one, wide-spread and far-reaching in its results. 

Returning to New Castle, Randall continued his 
meetings, though not attempting to preach. But it 
was not long before he felt convictions of duty to 
enter the ministry. His own insufficiency and the 
great sanctity of the work led him to dismiss this 



12 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

subject. Again, when he realized the deplorable 
condition of the world, the call was, "Go thou and 
preach the kingdom of God." It was said to him, 
at the close of one of their social meetings, " Brother 
Randall, I am tired of hearing you read old ser- 
mons; if you can not preach to us, do leave off read- 
ing old sermons and read the Bible." This was a 
rebuke. At the next meeting he complied with the 
request. He read a portion of the thirteenth chap- 
ter of John, which involuntarily led him to make 
some suggestive remarks. The next day he was not 
a little surprised to learn that it was said, " Ran- 
dall preached last night." 

To remove, if possible, all occasion for such re- 
marks, at the next meeting he undertook to read 
one of Dr. Watts's printed sermons. He says, "As 
I read, I began to die ; and the more I read, the 
more I felt my life departing, till I dared not read 
another line, lest the Lord would leave me to hard- 
ness of heart and blindness of mind." Laying the 
book aside, he at once confessed his neglect of duty, 
and said, " Now, by the grace of God, I am resolved 
to be obedient, and give myself up to his service as 
long as I live." This was probably the last sermon 
he ever attempted to read in public. 

Having made a written covenant with the Lord, 
and a consecration of himself to Christ, he entered 
at once in his Master's service, preaching almost 
daily for several weeks, which, in the spring of 1777, 
resulted in a glorious revival, in which thirty were 
converted. But this great success, in his first at- 
tempts to preach the gospel, did not shield the young 



BENJAMIN RANDALL. 13 

preacher from persecution and danger. More than 
once his life was threatened, and a brick, thrown 
from an unknown hand, barely missed his head. 
While preaching in a neighboring town, a mob as- 
sembled before the door; but this did not deter Ran- 
dall from preaching. A drenching shower cooled 
their zeal, and the mob finally dispersed without 
accomplishing their purposes. 

In the early part of 1777, several persons from 
New Durham heard Randall preach at Madbury, 
New Hampshire, and gave him a pressing invitation 
to go to their town and preach with them. With 
this invitation he shortly after complied. His 
preaching had an effect to awaken the people to the 
importance of religion. Many of the inhabitants 
were very solicitous for him to move to their place 
and settle with them ; at this time he gave them no 
encouragement. The ensuing fall, he visited them 
again. The request was renewed for him to settle 
in the town, to which he expressed a willingness on 
his part, could he be persuaded it was duty. Ac- 
cordingly a day of fasting and prayer was observed 
concerning this matter. All became " satisfied that 
the thing proceeded from the Lord." Proposals of 
settlement were then made to him by a committee 
chosen for that purpose. Randall answered them 
that he would go; but said a he would hear nothing 
about their proposals, for he never intended to be 
confined to any people, but meant to be every per- 
son's minister." 

In March, 1778, he moved to New Durham. Its 
location is in Strafford County, near the easterly 



14 EMINENT PREACHERS 

border of New Hampshire, about twenty-five miles 
northerly of Dover, and forty-five miles north-east- 
erly of Concord, the State capital. In extent it is 
somewhat large compared with many towns in the 
section, embracing 23,625 acres ; but there never has 
been any considerable village, and the population 
has never come quite up to 1,200. At the time of 
Randall's removal, the township contained only 
about three hundred inhabitants, mostly in humble 
dwellings, scattered in the openings that had been 
made in the forest. Rev. Nathaniel Porter, ordained 
by the Congregationalists in 1773, had preached 
there four years. He was a graduate of Harvard 
College, was a Doctor of Divinity, and died in Con- 
way in 1836, aged ninety-one. He was a hard 
worker in a new country, and wrote his sermons 
evenings by the light of pitch-wood. But for three 
years the people had been destitute of ministerial 
labor. 

When the time came to make preparations for a 
crop, one of the inhabitants gave Randall the priv- 
ilege of clearing up a certain portion of burnt land, 
and of raising what he could from it. He accepted 
this offer, though altogether unacquainted with farm- 
ing, his trade being that of sail-making and tailor- 
ing. In the meantime he purchased about thirty 
acres of land on the ridge, where he lived and died. 
The people subscribed considerable toward paying 
for it ; but, when time for payment came, it is said 
that hardly any of the subscription was paid. Hence, 
Randall had to turn out the corn which he had 
raised for his family, to pay toward his land. He 



BENJAMIN RANDALL. 15 

did not get enough to fully liquidate this debt, be- 
side his annual expenses, short of ten or twelve 
years perhaps. 

Bunyan speaks of the world as a wilderness. The 
preaching of John the Baptist was in the wilderness 
of Judea. New Durham was a wilderness when Mr. 
Randall moved there. There was no village nearer 
than Dover. That town then had about 1,700 in- 
habitants, one church, and a society of Quakers. 
Concord, now the capital, had about 1,200 inhab- 
itants, and one church. The towns around New 
Durham were but thinly settled. 

Behold, then, Randall "preaching in the wilder- 
ness," passing like an angel of light from one place 
to another, and crying, " Prepare ye the way of the 
Lord, make his paths straight." "Every valley 
shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall 
be brought low ; and the crooked shall be made 
straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth, 
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God." Glo- 
rious work ; the highest of all callings ; interesting 
in the sight of God and angels. "How beautiful 
upon the mountains are the feet of him that bring- 
eth good tidings ; that publisheth peace ; that saith 
unto Zion, thy God reigneth ! " 

At length, while in the midst of his most active 
labors, he was called to order by his brethren for 
not preaching the doctrines of John Calvin, upon 
which he had considered but very little, as these 
doctrines had not been in dispute among them. But 
as the call of the gospel was to all, and that God 
was not willing that any should perish, the same 



16 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

love constrained him to go forth, and call upon all 
men to come to Christ and be saved. He was called 
on three or four times, to answer for his errors, and 
on one occasion the debate lasted two days. On the 
last day of the meeting, the leading minister made 
public declaration of non-fellowship with Randall's 
principles, to which Randall replied, that it made 
no difference with him so long as he knew that the 
Lord owned him. 

Thus the division openly and publicly took place. 
It is obvious that it was nothing of Randall's 
seeking; but that he was driven to the necessity 
either of embracing Calvinism, — the odious sen- 
timents of which he could not honestly believe, — 
or of taking a stand by himself. He chose the lat- 
ter. Ministers and private brethren not only heard 
but discussed this matter, taking sides as their views 
and the Word of God accorded. 

In the early part of 1779, a church which had 
been formed in Loudon and Canterbury, New Hamp- 
shire, protested against Calvinian election. In the 
same year a church was organized in Barrington, 
mostly composed of brethren of liberal sentiments, 
standing as a branch of Berwick Church. Randall, 
having applied to the Berwick Church for a reg- 
ular dismission, and no notice being taken of his 
request, now considered himself at liberty to act as 
he saw fit. In March, 1780, he united with the 
church in Barrington, and April 5, he was ordained 
as an evangelist by Revs. Tosier Lord and Edward 
Lock. 

Mr. Randall had resided in New Durham more 



BENJAMIN RANDALL. 17 

than two years before the first Freewill Baptist 
Church was formed. He was in labors abundant ; 
much of the Divine presence was felt; but the prog- 
ress of free sentiments had not been rapid. The 
time came, at length, when it was judged advisable 
to organize. A meeting was appointed for this pur- 
pose, June 30, 1780. There was no meeting-house 
in town at the time, unless one had been erected at 
the Corner, two miles or more from the home of 
Randall and the seat of his operations. 

According to our best information, the organiza- 
tion took place in a dwelling now standing half a 
mile south of the Ridge, in the valley. It is a 
double-house, one story high. It never has had 
much paint on the outside, nor much, if any, within. 
The room in which Mr. Randall organized was about 
sixteen feet square. No plastering was ever put 
upon it, but ceiled on the sides and even overhead. 
Large braces, supporting the beams, were in full 
view ; but the fore-plane had been used to good ad- 
vantage. The dimensions of the old fire-place were 
visible. The floor was of pitch-pine plank, fastened 
down with wood pins, made for inch auger holes. 
It was said that this floor had been there from the 
beginning. It was smooth, and the whole had an 
air of neatness. 

The organization was effected in this room by 
adopting articles of faith and a covenant. Mr. Ran- 
dall recorded that, "All, in solemn prayer and sup- 
plication to the Lord, covenanted together in the 
fear of God, and signed our names." Their names 
were Benjamin Randall, Robert Boody, Nathaniel 
2* 



18 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

Buzzell, Joseph Boody, Judith Chartel, Margery 
Boody, and Mary Buzzell. 

The day of week, on which the church was consti- 
tuted, was Saturday. The next meeting for church 
business was held September 2, when four others 
joined the little band, and Mr. Randall was chosen 
Clerk. He served till near the close of his life, and 
but few church records have appeared to better ad- 
vantage. Robert Boody was also chosen Deacon. 
November 5, two more were received; May 17, 1781, 
fourteen united.' These appear to have been the 
statistics for the first year. June 30, 1781, was the 
anniversary of the organization. Seven constituted 
the church at the organization, — four males, and 
three females. Added afterward twenty, — seven 
males, and thirteen females. Membership at the 
end of the year, twenty-seven. It was a small be- 
ginning, and severe trials followed ; but the vine 
flourished, and in time was much increased. 

Mr. Randall, having come out from other sects, 
and preaching a general atonement and free grace, 
had great opposition. He was not always able to 
answer the arguments drawn from the Scriptures in 
opposition to the doctrines he preached, and this 
with other things drew him into great trial. He 
made earnest prayer to God. In July, 1780, in 
great distress he walked away from his dwelling a 
number of rods, and sat down on a rock in the 
midst of a piece of corn. Here, as he prayed, the 
Divine presence overshadowed him. He was shown 
that he must give up completely the doctrines of 
men, — every thing worldly, and be purified and 



BENJAMIN RANDALL. 19 

refined wholly. He yielded, and said that at once 
the flaming power of God filled his soul. The Script- 
ures were opened to his understanding, and saw 
that all was harmony in the universal love of God 
to man and a general atonement. This special ex- 
ercise lasted, as he judged, an hour and a half. To 
the praise of God, he afterward said, it completely 
ended all trial relative to those particular subjects. 

It seems that Mr. Randall, at the time of his sep- 
aration from the Calvinistic party, knew nothing 
of the General Baptists in England, nor of those of 
the Southern States. Had that been the case, no 
doubt he would have fallen in with them, so that 
all who embraced the doctrine of a general atone- 
ment would have had but one distinctive appella- 
tion. But as it was, he, with his associates, were 
left, either to take some name of their own choice, 
or to receive such as their opponents might be in- 
duced to throw after them. To the former course, 
he manifested a great reluctance, being strongly op- 
posed to party names, and considering the real 
church as all one. They called their church the 
"Church of Christ" simply, using the appellation 
Baptist and Antipedobaptist, however, occasionally, 
to distinguish themselves from those more particu- 
larly opposed to them. 

When the churches came to associate in Quarterly 
Meeting, for many years they called their association 
the " Baptist Quarterly Meeting." But, as they dif- 
fered materially, in doctrine and practice, from other 
Baptists, and thus formed a distinct sect, some dis- 
tinctive appellation, when speaking of them, had of 



20 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

necessity to be used. Their opponents were far 
from manifesting a reluctance to giving them appel- 
lations. Hence, through stigma, they threw after 
them the names, " New-Lights," " Randallites," etc. 
As Randall held that God had made a general pro- 
vision for the salvation of all men, and insisted upon 
this idea, as a fundamental point of doctrine, the 
name "General Provisioners" at length came some- 
what extensively into vogue. This the brethren 
sometimes used officially. The term, " New Durham 
Connection, " was occasionally used. But, as the 
brethren contended strenuously that man's will is 
left free to choose or refuse salvation when offered 
to him by the gospel, they were derided with the 
name " Freewillers." This name becoming pretty 
generally used, the connection finally adopted it, 
leaving off the ers. This final settlement of the 
name did not take place till twenty-four years after 
the commencement of the denomination ; and then 
necessity drove them to it. And further, party 
names are not what makes the great distinctions in 
the religious world, but the different views that 
have obtained. 

In the year 1780, Randall visited Little Falls,— 
Hollis, Maine, — and preached among the people. 
It appears that the Lord very signally blessed his 
labors. A reformation commenced and spread to 
some extent ; as the fruits of which a church of one 
hundred members was embodied. But it was Ran- 
dall's lot to meet with opposition here as well as in 
other places. The enemies of God could not bear the 
idea of having their ranks thus thinned out. Hence, 



BENJAMIN EANDALL. 21 

they determined to do what they could to stop the 
work of God. On one occasion in particular, while 
Mr. R. was performing the ordinance of baptism, 
clubs were thrown at him with great fury. But, 
by reason of the interference of some of the by- 
standers, he received no injury. He was also pre- 
served after coming out of the water, from being 
violently beaten and perhaps losing his life, by sev- 
eral friends. All this, however, did not put down 
the work. Such arguments, which Satan often uses 
to sustain his cause, could have but little influence 
in the minds of the more candid and intelligent. 

In September, 1781, Mr. R., in company with a 
brother from Saco River, visited the Kennebec 
country. His first meeting was at Georgetown, Par- 
ker's Island, so called, September 31. The prospect 
of a revival was so good, that they had a meeting, 
in the same place, the next day. The power of the 
Lord was manifested among the people. Many were 
struck under powerful conviction, and the work re- 
sulted in a very glorious reformation. Mr. R., the 
next day, visited Woolwich, "where he found a 
number of precious Christians, who were longing 
for the coming of the Lord with power." When, 
in his first meeting, he mentioned the words of his 
text, Canticles i, 7, 8, "the power of God seemed to 
accompany them to the hearts of the saints, and a 
marvelous season ensued." The followers of Christ 
" praised the Lord in a wonderful manner." 

On the next day crowds of people came together^ 
to see what strange things were happening in their 
place. But. on hearing the thrilling appeals that fell 



22 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

from Randall's lips, "the most carnal were struck, 
and cried for mercy ; and the work spread with 
mighty power, through the vicinity." At the close, 
he baptized five. He remarks that there were not 
more than three in the assembly of three hundred 
present, who had seen an individual immersed. He 
still further thinks that immersion had not, before 
that occasion, been performed east of North Yar- 
mouth. On the Sabbath following, a number expe- 
rienced a change of heart in the meeting. After the 
close of the exercises, they repaired to the water, 
and he baptized several candidates, and, on retiring 
to the house, organized them into a church. Oppo- 
sition visibly manifested itself; but it was all to no 
purpose j the work spread powerfully. 

In 1783, Mr. R. made a tour among the Eastern 
churches. lie found them generally in prosperity ; 
large additions had been made to some ; union pre- 
vailed. He went as far as New Castle, on Damar- 
iscotta River ; also, over into Bristol. At these 
places, revivals commenced. He, on his return, 
stopped and held meetings at New Meadows, in 
Brunswick. Here the eifect of his preaching was 
such that almost the whole assembly at times would 
be crying aloud, some for mercy, and some rejoic- 
ing. The people wished Randall to stop and preach 
in the meeting-house on the Sabbath, to which he 
consented. But the minister of the place refused, 
and would not even consent for Randall to sit in 
the pulpit with him; hence, he sat in a pew and 
heard. But he preached in the evening at a private 
house, — Peacon Snow's. The people assembled in 



BENJAMIN RANDALL. 23 

crowds; the meeting held till three o'clock in the 
morning. And such was the effect of it, that the 
minister above alluded to, notwithstanding all his 
opposition, was constrained to cry out with the rest. 
A deaf and dumb man was present, and manifested 
great distress of mind, after which he became calm, 
and made striking signs of happiness. Harpswell 
was also visited, where great success attended the 
Word ; quite a number were converted and baptized. 

Those who know how eminent Mr. Randall was 
in seeking propriety, system, and good order in all 
he did, will readily suppose that he was great as an 
organizer. Few, if any, who have ever founded a 
denomination, have excelled him in this respect. 
The first organizations were called Monthly Meet- 
ings. Hence, when Randall baptized persons in 
towns near New Durham, he recorded that he added 
them to the New Durham Monthly Meeting. The 
Monthly Meetings were in part churches, and after 
a time were called so. 

In 1783, three years after the first church was 
formed, he devised the plan of Quarterly Meetings. 
It was in the autumn, and he was returning from 
an eastern journey, and at Hollis, Maine, attended 
a sort of Convention called for the purpose, when 
he laid his plan before the brethren. It was readily 
adopted, and, on the first Saturday and Sabbath in 
December following, the first was held in that place, 
which Mr. R. attended. He recorded in his journal : 
"It was a most glorious time of the power of God." 
The second Quarterly Meeting was held in March, 
1784, in New Gloucester, Maine. " It was," he 



24 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

records, "a marvelous and wonderful meeting. Sin- 
ners were awakened, and saints rejoiced much in 
God." The third was held in June, at Randall's 
house, in New Durham. He wrote: "It was a re- 
freshing season." The fourth was in September, at 
Woolwich, Maine. " The brethren in all that sec- 
tion," wrote he, "were much engaged, and there 
was an increase of the work of God. Glory to the 
King of kings." These were the Quarterly Meet- 
ings for the first year they were held. 

From that date, 1783, the Connection went on 
with Quarterly, extra, or general meetings, nine 
years to 1792, when Randall's fruitful and organizing 
mind saw that another thing was needed. This was 
Yearly Meetings. He wrote a plan, laid it before 
the New Durham Church, which readily approved 
it. Then it was agreed to hold a Convention, 
May 23, in Barnstead. "After unitedly looking to 
God for his blessing and direction," says Randall, 
" it was agreed to have Quarterly Meetings as be- 
fore, and that the one held in June be a Yearly 
Meeting." The first Yearly Meeting was held in 
New Durham, commencing June 9. Randall's rec- 
ord is : "A glorious season ; on the last day I bap- 
tized five." 

Time, with the blessing of God, proved the ex- 
cellence of this arrangement. Mr. Randall felt sat- 
isfied with it, and wrote : " Monthly Meetings were 
represented in Quarterly Meetings, and Quarterly 
Meetings in Yearly Meetings. The higher organi- 
zations could attend to any difficulties the churches 
could not remove. The churches could become ac- 



BENJAMIN RANDALL. 25 

quainted with each other and know of their trials 
and prosperity, and in these general meetings quicken 
and stir up each other's pure minds by way of re- 
membrance." 

For New Hampshire, the Yearly Meeting was 
held in New Durham nearly if not quite every year 
till KandalPs death. The attendance was large, fre- 
quently as many as three thousand being present. 
The places where they were first held were at Mr. 
R.'s house, in and around it ; sometimes in his barn, 
in and around it ; sometimes in his orchard ; some- 
times in the meeting-house, at the Corner; also, in 
the field near. Some of these yearly sessions were 
remarkable for displays of the Divine power. That 
of June, 1798, resembled Pentecost more than any 
meeting in modern times. Again, in 1806, on one 
of the days of which the sun was totally eclipsed, the 
scene was solemn and powerful beyond description. 

New Durham was the place where God's people 
were marvelously blessed, and many who went there 
to Yearly Meeting great sinners, went home happy 
in the love of Christ. For some years, at first, the 
Yearly Meeting was anticipated with great interest, 
and, after it passed, recollected with untold satis- 
faction. Held in the lovely month of June, it was 
often spoken of as " the June Meeting." When the 
time for it was approaching, in all that region, and 
in some distant sections of the State, Vermont, Mas- 
sachusetts, and Maine, the conversations and calcu- 
lations were upon "the June Meeting." 

The country was comparatively new. There were 
some carriages ; these, for a time, were chaises. In 
3 



26 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

1806, Randall noted in his journal that, on Friday 
before the day Yearly Meeting commenced, six 
chaises arrived with friends from Portsmouth and 
Boston. Many traveled long distances on foot; but 
the most common method of riding was on horse- 
back. Men and women rode in this way. The 
roads were rough ; portions of the way were simply 
"bridle paths," as they were called. One specimen 
will be given. A party of eleven traveled from Par- 
sonsfield, Maine, to the Yearly Meeting, a distance 
of about forty miles. Part, if not all, rode horse- 
back, among whom were Rev. John Buzzell, and his 
daughter Mary, aged fifteen years. 

Trials with offending members and disorderly 
churches were frequent in the new connection ; but 
efforts were made to enforce discipline. Randall was 
often appointed by Quarterly and Yearly Meetings 
to visit and labor with offenders. No one was bet- 
ter adapted to the work than he. The first trouble 
of any note the denomination experienced, on ac- 
count of innovation or falling off in regard to doc- 
trine, arose among the Shakers. They made an early 
attempt upon the church in Canterbury and Loudon, 
New Hampshire, where their success was consider- 
able. They continued their efforts for several years 
in various places, so much so, that at a general meet- 
ing, in the year 1794, the meeting appointed a fast, 
to be observed in reference to it. After this, we 
hear but little of any troubles from Shakerism, 
though one of the first preachers, if no more, got so 
much led astray by them, that he was of little use 
to the world afterward. 



BENJAMIN RANDALL. 27 

The next instance of trouble to the brethren, on 
points of doctrine and practice, was the case of Jere- 
miah Ballard, of Unity, New Hampshire, and his 
adherents, who run into various strange practices, 
such as kissing, dancing, jumping, and embracing 
men and women, as a part of worship. From this 
beginning probably sprang also the spirit of con-fc 
versing with angels, etc. Ballard was expelled. 

Two or three years after this, Elias Smith made 
an effort to be received into the Connection. Though 
he was not received, yet he succeeded by his preach- 
ing and publications to draw many into his notions. 
Some of these left, while others remained. Perhaps, 
in this case, the denomination experienced a greater 
shock, and the substantial pillars of the church had 
greater trials, than in any other case after the com- 
mencement of the denomination. A number, who 
had promised great usefulness, to the inexpressible 
grief of the rest, drank into Smith's Annihilation 
doctrine, and also his Unitarian views ; or, at least, 
imbibed lower views of the Savior than the brethren 
generally held to be orthodox. Many were also in- 
fluenced to contend for looser principles of church 
government than Randall would admit of it. But 
many of the brethren held to their integrity not- 
withstanding all the winning enticements of the de- 
ceiver — determined to walk in the Lord as they had 
received him. 

Some idea of the industry and labors of Mr. Ran- 
dall mav be had in the record he makes. In 1784, 
he attended three hundred meetings ; also, in 1785, 
above three hundred. He says, " I saw many souls 



28 EMINENT PREACIIEKS. 

brought to rejoice in the Lord." In August, 1786, 
he went to Edgecomb, Maine, and vicinity. He 
found great freedom in preaching Jesus all through 
that section, with the islands of the sea. Multitudes 
flocked from all quarters ; the country all about was 
much moved. In August, 1787, he attended by re- 
quest the monthly meeting at Pittsfield, New Hamp- 
shire, and organized the members with proper offi- 
cers. In October, he assisted in the ordination of 
Nathan Merrill, of Gray, Maine. In December, he 
also assisted in the ordination of James McCorson, 
of Gorham. In March, 1789, he attended the first 
Quarterly Meeting held in Parsonsfield. The season 
was glorious beyond description. In October, 1793, 
he attended a Quarterly Meeting in New Hamp- 
shire, which was a refreshing season. In June, 
1794, he attended Yearly Meeting in New Durham, 
which continued four days. In July, he visited 
Berwick, Kittery, and York, Maine ; a number of 
members were added. 

A few extracts will now be given from his jour- 
nal, to exhibit his constant labor and faithfulness 
as a pastor at home over the New Durham Church, 
and among the people of the town. "March, 1801, 
while speaking from Psalm cxxv, 1, 2, there was a 
1 heavy shock of an earthquake, which shook the 
house. My wish was that God might cause it to 
shake the secure and awaken them. March 26, at 
home all day, being very unwell. March 27, visited 
an old sister, she being very sick, but very com- 
fortable in soul. Evening; a glorious meeting at 
my house. March 28, went out to visit some fami- 



BENJAMIN RANDALL. 29 

lies, and had divine consolation. March 31, visited 
four families, and had a wonderful time in exhorta- 
tion and prayer. 

"April 1, visited a number of families, and had 
good praying seasons. In the afternoon a meeting 
of worship, and spoke from the words, 'How many 
are thy mercies.' April 2, visited some families, 
and in the evening had a blessed meeting at my 
house. April 3, visited a dear sister of the church ; 
found her in a heavenly state, longing to go home 
to heaven. Afternoon ; had a meeting, and spoke 
from Hebrews xii, 11 ; comfortable season. April 6, 
at home all day, writing for the Yearly Meeting. 
April 7, out on a visit, and at night a meeting of 
worship. April 8, monthly meeting at New Dur- 
ham ; a good time ; the consolations of the Lord 
great." 

It is impossible, in the space allowed us, to give 
a detailed account of the life and labors of Randall, 
during an active ministry of nearly thirty years. 
In the spirit of a faithful embassador of Christ, he 
performed his mission on earth. Under his gospel 
labors, revivals spread far and wide. Ministers and 
churches came out from other denominations, and 
united with the new connection. As the reforma- 
tion extended, other ministers were raised up, and 
other churches organized. The little vine grew and 
extended, and in less than two years, several churches 
were organized in the State of Maine, making the 
whole number nine. From this time onward, to 
the close of Randall's life, the increase of members 
and churches was very encouraging. There were 



30 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

probably from seventy-five to one hundred churches, 
and the membership might have been five or six 
thousand, and now — 1873 — numbers more than sev- 
enty thousand. Many effectual doors were opened to 
receive the Word, and Randall was instant in season 
and out of season, to reprove, to rebuke, and exhort 
with all long-suffering and doctrine. He traveled 
extensively and preached continually, chiefly con- 
fining his labors to Maine, New Hampshire, and 
Vermont. 

Soon after the year 1808 commenced, Mr. Ran- 
dall's health, poor much of the preceding year, grew 
much worse. His cough was very distressing, his 
flesh wasted, consumption was seated, and he was 
confined mostly to his house. Sabbath, January 17, 
he preached from " Remember Lot's wife." This 
is the last text he records, although he probably 
preached once or twice afterward. The following 
is in his journal : 

"January 20, 1808, wrapped up, and was carried 
in a sleigh to Farmington, to see John Ham, who 
had news of his son's death in Havana. Found him 
in trouble, and tried to comfort him. February 21, 
very weak ; but was carried to meeting. Spoke an 
hour ; but it was too much for me. It was with 
difficulty that I got home. March 30, have been 
confined to my room for thirty days ; yet I bless 
God's holy name for his goodness. March 31, weak 
in body, but, through divine grace, have strong con- 
solation in Christ Jesus. 

"April 3, very weak in body, but calm and com- 
fortable in mind. April 13, monthly meeting at 



BENJAMIN RANDALL. 31 

my house; and oh, the glory of the Lord filled 
every soul that would receive it ! April 19, poorly 
in body, but comfortable in soul ; reformation in 
New Durham ; the power of the Lord is very great 
in the place. April 24, have been confined to the 
house ten weeks, but feel patient. April 27, went 
out of doors, it being pleasant. Felt to bless God 
that I could set my feet on the ground ; but was so 
weak that I could not get into the house without 
help. O, Lord, let thy work be perfected in my 
soul ! May 11, monthly meeting, and the Lord's 
Supper at my house. It was a wonderful season." 

It appears that he officiated on this occasion. It 
was his last meeting and communion season. In 
fact, that was his last meeting of worship on earth. 

"August 1, so weak I do but just breathe. The 
Lord only knows how long I am to stay. Oh, may 
I be conformed to his will ! I do bless his name 
that hitherto I have been enabled to trust him. May 
my soul bless him at all times ! August 17, this 
morning felt courage to ride in my chaise; but it 
proved too much for my poor weak body. August 
24, very low, and have been ever since my ride. I 
pray to be patient, and that I may enjoy God's love,, 
and glorify him in body and soul." 

This was his last entry in his journal ; yet he lin- 
gered about two months longer. Now come the 
closing scenes. In a humble dwelling, on the 
southerly slope of the ridge in New Durham, New 
Hampshire, Benjamin Randall, the founder of 
the Freewill Baptist Denomination, is approaching 
the end of his useful life. His flesh is mostly gone ; 



32 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

his face is pale ; but his eyes, though sunken, have 
luster still. For days and weeks he can speak but 
little above a whisper. But in these whispers he 
lisps the name of Jesus ; tells of his love and desire 
to depart and be with him. In the room, when 
none talk with him, he is talking with God. He is 
a spiritual merchant in a heavenly exchange, driv- 
ing a rich bargain for the treasures of the glorious 
world. His looks, smiles, and motions indicate that 
he is on the confines of heaven. His sun is about 
to set ; but he is to " behold with increasing delight 
a sun that shall never go down." The Celestial city 
is in full view, its breezes fan him, its odors are 
wafted to him, its music falls upon his ear. His 
body fails ; but his spirit expands. He is going 
where there is no time, age, pain, sorrow, nor death, 
but where the Lord God and the Lamb, the angels 
and the spirits of the just made perfect, forever are. 

There is a fish in' the sea that shines brightest in 
death, and a bird of the air that sings when dying. 
The faithful and devoted Christian, not only shines 
and sings in death, but triumphs. God was to give 
Randall one more opportunity to shout victory. So 
a little past the middle of October, the Lord gave 
him such strength of voice that, for two or three 
1 hours, he could speak so as to be heard in the next 
room. He talked of his Savior, praised God, and 
said his soul was full of heaven. Then his voice 
failed, and he could only whisper till he died. In 
those whispers he would say, "My soul is full of 
Jesus, and I long to be with him." 

His last day was Sabbath, October 21. He lay 



BENJAMIN EANDALL. 33 

quietly, but fully conscious. After twelve at night 
there was a change, and it was evident that he was 
in death. At two o'clock in the morning, October 
22, 1808, his passport was sealed; he crossed the 
river of death, which seemed but a small rill. He 
had his senses in full, and no doubt the " shining 
ones " which Bunyan names, met him on the other 
side, and escorted him up to the regions of unsullied 
bliss. His age was fifty-nine years, seven months, 
and twenty-seven days. 

It was desirable that not only the relatives, but the 
ministers and churches be notified of the funeral as 
extensively as possible. Then there were not only 
no railroads, but stage lines in the country were few. 
The larger towns had a mail once or twice a week ; 
the small towns no Post-office. The funeral was, 
therefore, deferred till Friday, October 26. Mes- 
sengers were sent in different directions, some to 
towns thirty and forty miles away. In the mean- 
time, all necessary preparations were made in the 
town. The family Randall had left was in mod- 
erate circumstances as to property, and the church 
arranged to assist in providing supplies for the 
funeral. 

The time came, and the attendance was like that 
of a Yearly Meeting, and on these occasions then 
there were frequently two thousand or more. Prob- 
ably few, if any funerals in New Hampshire, ever 
had so large an attendance. The modest dwelling 
convened only the relatives, the ministers, seventeen 
in number, and a few others. The crowd was about 
the house outside. Randall had arranged for Rev. 



34 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

John Buzzell, of Parsonsfield, Maine, to preach the 
sermon. The text was, " I have fought a good 
fight," etc. The speaker stood near the door, and a 
large part of those present were able to hear. 

The religious services were somewhat long, but 
solemn and impressive. At the close were the usual 
formalities of such occasions, and the procession was 
formed. The remains were borne on a bier, six of 
the ordained ministers being bearers. The burying 
place had been selected by Randall himself in his 
field, perhaps less than fifty rods southerly of his 
dwelling. The order of the procession, in the hand- 
writing of Samuel Runnels, Esq., who superintended, 
is preserved, and is as follows: 1. Rev. John Buz- 
zell and widow Randall. 2. The other relatives in 
their order. 3. The ruling elders, deacons, and 
other members of the church in New Durham. 
4. The physician of the town. 5. Civil and military 
officers of the town and other towns present. 6. Min- 
isters of the gospel not engaged as bearers. 7. Cit- 
izens and people in general. 

These made a very lengthy procession. When the 
foremost had reached the grave, the rear had just 
left the house. The whole was conducted with great 
quietness, decorum, and with a simplicity and plain- 
ness in keeping with the character of him who was 
in life humble, and in death triumphant. 

Mr. Randall was endowed with strong and bril- 
liant powers of mind. He was not classically in- 
structed ; yet, by close application and untiring dili- 
gence, he became well informed in general knowledge, 
Biblical literature, and practical theology, to which 



BENJAMIN RANDALL. 35 

may be added a clear knowledge of human nature, 
and deep and fervent spirituality. His was an 
earnest and impulsive spirit, which faltered not in 
any good work. " I have not spared myself," says 
he, " nor slacked my hand, either in persecution or 
applause, — in poverty or plenty, — in sickness or 
health, — in cold or heat, — in fair or foul, — far or 
near ; and, glory to God, eternal glory to his great 
name, I this day, while I am writing, feel the same 
resolution." 

As a speaker, he was calm and argumentative. 
A clear, strong voice, and a distinct pronunciation, 
gave effectiveness to his. public ministrations. He 
often, in the course of a sermon, wept, which was 
usually followed by powerful peals of gospel truth. 
Though earnest and impressive, his gestures were 
few ; but his language, generally correct, was to the 
point. Possessing a retentive memory, he abounded 
in facts, which were brought to bear on any subject 
under discussion. There is evidence that he had 
fair abilities as a sermonizer, as a printed sermon 
of his, delivered February 27, 1803, fully attests. 
The testimony is that he never said any thing to 
cause mirth, but much to cause seriousness and con- 
viction. His sermons were Scriptural and persua- 
sive. 

He was great in goodness. His devotion to the 
cause of Christ was eminent, and his love to Christ 
and the souls of men abounding. His life was one 
of faith, — earnest service. In this sense Abraham 
was called great ; Moses was " great in the sight of 
the people;" John the Baptist was "great in the 



36 EMINENT PREACHEES. 

sight of the Lord;" and Paul suffered great things 
for the cause of Christ. Mr. Randall, then, an- 
swered well the Bible view of greatness. He did a 
great work, and is receiving, no doubt, a great re- 
ward. 

In personal appearance he was erect and free from 
corpulence, and about five feet nine inches in height. 
He was active in all his movements, the nervous 
temperament predominating. His hair was dark ; 
his forehead high ; his eyes gray, inclining to hazel ; 
his nose straight and handsome; his mouth large, 
with thin lips ; his features sharp. Neatly but 
plainly dressed and gentlemanly in appearance, he 
commanded the attention and respect of his hearers. 

He was not rich in this world's possessions. On 
the contrary his property was small, estimated the 
year before his death at five hundred dollars. His 
small farm of thirty acres was carried on as best it 
could be, and at times, when not otherwise em- 
ployed, he worked at making clothes, being a tailor. 
He received something toward his support, but far 
from what was necessary for himself and a large 
family. The church at New Durham also con- 
tributed something, chiefly from the " Church 
Stock." 

Some few articles are yet preserved by his friends 
as mementoes of him. Among these are the records 
of the church of New Durham, of some Quarterly 
and Yearly Meetings, when he served as Clerk. 
He kept very accurate records. His journal appears 
to have been a diary. Some years he wrote some- 
thing every day, showing where he was, the jour- 



BENJAMIN EANDALL. 37 

neys made, meetings attended, and what he wit- 
nessed of the displays of the power of God. His 
style was chaste, his writing fine, so that much was 
on a page. Portions of his journal are still in ex- 
istence. Also, a lock of his hair, the ivory head of 
his cane, a pair of spectacles, and a watch, the last 
of which is owned by Mr. George W. Drew, of Con- 
cord, New Hampshire, a great-grandson of Randall 
on his mother's side. 

Mr. Randall's successor, at New Durham, was 
Rev. Moses Cheney, a man of good preaching abil- 
ities, who continued three or four years. Rev. 
Jonathan Kenney succeeded in 1822, and remained 
two years. Rev. Nathaniel Berry, a native of Straf- 
ford, succeeded in 1829, and continued till his death, 
October 15, 1865, aged seventy-six. He was a hum- 
ble, devoted minister. Then the question was, who 
should be the successor. One was found, Joseph F. 
Joy, a native of the town and a graduate of Dart- 
mouth College. He was ordained in 1866. The 
natives of New Durham, who have been preachers, 
are Joseph Boody, John S. Runnels, D. L. Edgerly, 
and J. F. Joy, already named. 

Until 1859, nothing but a plain, common marble 
slab indicated the place of Randall's interment. 
But this has been removed, giving place to a beauti- 
ful monument, erected by the denomination, Sep- 
tember 14, 1859, with appropriate religious exercises, 
in the presence of more than one thousand people. 
The said monument is composed of Italian marble, 
ten feet high, with a large granite block for its base, 
and upon each side of the shaft are suitable inscrip- 



38 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

tions. His remains sleep, as is said of Washington, 
amid the sublimities of nature. Pleasant fields are 
all around. There, in summer, the birds sing their 
liveliest notes. The winds in the forest, at the 
south-east, chant a requiem; a rivulet, south-west, 
glides peacefully along the valley. The rising sun 
gilds the top of the monument, and, when setting, 
seems to linger and rejoice on its summit. 

Mr. Randall had a family of eight children, four 
sons and four daughters. His wife survived him 
until May 12, 1826, at the advanced age of seventy- 
eight years. Randall's descendants in the ministry 
are two. First, a grandson, Rev. D. B. Randall. 
He was a son of Robert Oram, Randall's oldest 
child. Second, a great-grandson, Alonzo H. Quint, 
whose grandmother was Mary Shannon, Randall's 
eldest daughter. Rev. D. B. Randall joined the 
New England Conference of the Methodist Church. 
Rev. Alonzo H. Quint graduated at Dartmouth 
College and at Andover Theological Seminary, and 
was ordained pastor of a Congregational church in 
Massachusetts. 



PELATIAH TINGLEY. 39 

CHAPTEE II. 

PELATIAH TINGLEY. 

Pelatiah Tingley, contemporary with Randall, 
was a native of Attleborough, Massachusetts, a town 
twelve miles from Providence, Rhode Island. He 
was born in 1735. At the age of sixteen he was the 
subject of serious religious impressions, and, per- 
haps, obtained evidence of pardon. The leading de- 
sire of his mind was to be useful, and, on inquiring 
how he might best promote the happiness of his 
fellow-creatures, he felt that at a future period it 
might be his duty to preach the gospel. He was 
encouraged to obtain a collegiate education. Ac- 
cordingly, he went through the preparatory studies, 
and, in 1757, at the age of twenty-two, entered Yale 
College, in New Haven, Connecticut. He graduated 
in 1761. The class with which he was connected at 
the time of graduating, consisted of thirty young 
men, of whom ten afterward became ministers, and 
one of them, several years since, was chosen gov- 
ernor of the State of Georgia. 

Mr. Tingley was at first a Congregationalist, and, 
sometime after leaving college, commenced preach- 
ing. In 1764, the church in Gorham, Maine, be- 
came destitute of a pastor, and Mr. Tingley was 
employed to preach as a candidate for settlement. 
In 1766, it was voted to give him a call to settle as 
pastor. He considered the subject, and, for some 
cause, decided not to accept the call. 



40 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

The next particular account of him is, that he 
took up his residence in Sanford, Maine ; but the 
date is not given, neither does it appear that he was 
there settled over a church. It is probable, there- 
fore, that Mr. Tingley preached here some, and in 
other places, as there were openings. It is well 
known that,, at that period in this country, while 
there were some few able and devoted ministers, the 
more part had but little of the life and spirit of 
vital godliness. There was a form of religion, but 
the power was wanting. Some labored for a reform, 
and Mr. Tingley was made to feel on the subject, as 
the following circumstance shows. Not far from 
1779, he was preaching one day in New Market, 
New Hampshire. It being warm weather, the win- 
dows of the meeting-house were raised, and, as he 
was carefully reading his sermon, which lay before 
him in the Bible, all at once a sudden gust of wind 
removed his notes ; and, as he saw them flitting 
down among the people, his thoughts were that they 
were rather light. He finished his sermon as well 
as he could, and then began to think of the neces- 
sity of having a gospel to preach that the wind could 
not blow away. He sought for a deep work of 
grace, and united with the Baptist denomination. 

Not far from 1780, there was some division among 
the Baptists, some of them being strong Calvinists, 
and others of liberal sentiments. Tingley at once 
adhered to those who maintained that there had 
been a general atonement made; that the blessings 
of it had been freely offered to all, and that all 
might accept and be saved. When, therefore, he 



PELATIAH TINGLEY. 41 

became acquainted with Randall soon after he com- 
menced his public career, he found that he was heart 
and hand with him. So, after awhile, he left the 
Baptists, and united with the Freewill Baptists. It 
is seen, therefore, that he changed his denomina- 
tional relation twice. Many have found it necessary 
to change once and unite where they could find a 
people whose sentiments were congenial. It has 
generally been found, however, that those who change 
twice or thrice are rather unstable, and often uneasy, 
uncomfortable persons, that will not be satisfied long 
in any place. But this was not the case with Mr. 
Tingley. He was seeking for the truth, and acting 
up to the light as fast as received ; and, having at 
length found a people whose sentiments he thought 
nearer in accordance with the Bible than any other, 
he became established to live and die with them. 

He subsequently changed his place of residence 
from Sanford to Waterborough. This was his home 
to the close of his life. He spent much time, how- 
ever, abroad, attending Quarterly and Yearly Meet- 
ings, in which he often served as moderator or clerk. 
He attended many ordinations with Mr. Randall, 
and usually took an important part in the solemn 
exercises. He visited many of the new churches 
that were springing up in the connection. He de- 
lighted to encourage believers to persevere, and to 
point the unreconciled to Christ. He encountered 
some opposition ; but, in the midst of it, was calm 
and self-possessed. Once the covering of a bridge, 
on the way to a place where he had an appointment 
to preach, was removed. Those who did it laid in 
4 



42 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

secret to watch, expecting to see him fall into the 
stream. But it so happened that he took another 
road, and, after their patience was nearly exhausted, 
they heard that he was at the appointed place, 
preaching; so they covered up the bridge and went 
home, much chagrined. At another time, he went 
into a certain town to preach, and an evil-minded 
justice of the peace issued a warrant and sent a con- 
stable to warn him out of the town. When the con- 
stable came into the presence of Mr. Tingley, he 
was struck with great fear, feeling, without doubt, 
that he was dealing with a man of God, and that it 
might be dangerous to do harm to one of his serv- 
ants. He trembled so that he could not well read 
ais warrant. Mr. Tingley kindly offered to read it 
for him, which being done, he told him he was 
going directly out of town to attend another ap- 
pointment. He talked a little to the constable, 
who went away apparently much ashamed. 

As a Christian, his piety was deep-toned. He 
was decidedly spiritual and ardently devoted. Relig- 
ion was his whole theme; and, like his Lord and 
Master, he delighted to go about doing good. 

As a minister, he was faithful. He bore a de- 
cided testimony against the infidel doctrines of Paine, 
Voltaire, and others ; also, against dancing and other 
vain and sinful recreations. He also inculcated 
habits of temperance. In this, he was a good ex- 
ample for others. The motto which he often used 
was, " Whether, therefore, ye eat or drink, or what- 
soever ye do, do all to the glory of God." 

He was a good expositor of the Scriptures. But 



PELATIAH TINGLEY. 43 

when those familiarly acquainted with him asked 
him the meaning of particular passages, he would 
generally reply that he did not know but little. 
This was a modest but powerful rebuke to such 
young preachers as were always ready to introduce 
their opinions, as though they knew about every 
thing, and that wisdom would die with them. 

And, finally, it may be justly said, as a minister 
he was instructive. When he spoke, it was to the 
purpose. He had a singular talent of having a clear 
knowledge of the subject under consideration ; he 
was not boisterous or noisy, but quiet, contempla- 
tive, determined ; it was a maxim with him to mind 
his own business. He used but few words in vain. 
He was very short in his sermons and prayers. Few 
indeed have been .more concise than he was. He did 
not, consequently, make his services fatiguing. They 
closed with a good impression, and the people, then, 
wished to hear him again. 

At length, after a ministry of about forty years, 
it was found that his useful life was drawing to a 
close ; although he was very aged, his mental facul- 
ties remained good. He preached his last sermon 
in his own house not long before his death, from the 
text, " Render, therefore, unto Csesar the things 
which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that 
are God's." He spoke only a few minutes, but his 
words were like apples of gold in pictures of silver. 
A good reformation had been progressing in 
Waterborough for some time, which swept away, 
in a great measure, the. delusions of Cochranism, 



44 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

which had there been spreading. Mr. Tingley, 
therefore, seemed ready to say, "Lord, now lettest 
thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy 
word ; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation ! " He 
died in the autumn of 1821, aged about eighty-six. 



JOHN BUZZELL. 45 

CHAPTER III. 

JOHN BUZZELL. 

John Buzzell was born in Barrington, New 
Hampshire, September 16, 1766, but his parents 
soon removed to Middleton. In childhood he re- 
ceived strong religious impressions from his mother's 
faithfulness, and these impressions were confirmed 
from thirteen to seventeen years of age, during 
which time he resided in an intelligent Christian 
family in Wakefield. He was there greatly en- 
couraged and assisted in his studies, for which he 
had a strong relish, and his perseverance secured to 
himself a good education for the times. When 
twenty-one years of age, he received a certificate of 
competency as a teacher, and soon commenced his 
first school in a private house with six pupils, all 
children of the same family. 

Early in January, 1790, he commenced a school 
in the vicinity of the residence of Benjamin Ran- 
dall, and became a constant attendant on his meet- 
ings. During that winter he was an honest in- 
quirer after truth and duty, and often visited at 
Randall's house, who was one of his patrons. The 
evening after his school closed was spent there ; and 
before he left Randall prayed with and for him. 
On his way to his boarding-place, Buzzell felt an 
unusual degree of condemnation, not only because 
he was a sinner against God, but because he had re- 
fused to give any expression of his feelings to Ran- 



46 EMINENT PEEACHEES. 

dall, whose counsel he was to enjoy no more, as he 
supposed. Never did his sins appear so aggravat- 
ing; never did he feel such penitence; and never did 
he pray with such earnestness. His cries for help 
brought deliverance, and there, alone, did he praise 
the Lord. The next day was the Sabbath, and, after 
sermon, he spoke a few words expressive of his great 
peace of mind; but, remembering that he had never 
heard an exhortation in a Sabbath meeting, he 
stopped short, and began to apologize to Randall and 
the congregation. He was checked in this, and told 
to live up to all his convictions of duty. 

Returning home, he spent several days among his 
friends, telling them what the Lord had done for his 
soul. The next winter he taught in New Durham, 
and again enjoyed many precious privileges with his 
spiritual instructor. He was faithful, and, conse- 
quently, happy in the service of God. Religion was 
his theme wherever he went, and the spiritually- 
minded already discerned that the Master was call- 
ing him into his vineyard as a public laborer. 

Having married Miss Anna Buzzell, of Hollis, 
Maine, the autumn previous, he removed her to 
Middleton in the spring, into the same house with 
his brother Aaron. The two brothers had married 
sisters, and often did they enjoy their daily worship 
together. On the Sabbath they searched the Script- 
ures together, and had a season of prayer. About 
this time he was so deeply impressed with the con- 
viction that God was calling him to preach, that he 
could find no rest in the neglect of the work. At 
his brother's solicitation he allowed an appointment 



JOIIN BUZZELL. 47 

to be given for a meeting at their own house the 
next Sabbath; and, in April, 1791, he preached his 
first sermon. The meetings were continued; the 
congregation increased, and the third Sabbath the 
Selectmen offered him the town meeting-house, 
which he occupied, though not without opposition. 
A few were converted, and the next year eight per- 
sons, without council or formal act, agreed to con- 
sider themselves a church, though neither minister 
nor members had been baptized, a delinquency that 
was soon remedied. A clerk and monthly meeting 
were appointed, and the Bible was taken as their 
rule of faith and practice. 

He now bought twenty acres of land, built him a 
small house, and regarded Middleton as his perma- 
nent home. A joint council, appointed by the 
Yearly and Quarterly Meeting, met at his house to 
consider the question of his ordination, and, Octo- 
ber 25, 1792, he was set apart to the work of the 
ministry, in the presence of two thousand people. 
From this time he gave himself more fully to his 
profession, and his labors were eminently useful. 
In this brief sketch, only a glance here and there at 
his useful life can be given; but the reader may 
rest assured that he was always " diligent in busi- 
ness, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." It will 
not be an extravagant eulogy to say, he was kind in 
spirit, upright in life, fluent in speech, strong in 
voice, graceful in action, sound in argument, and, 
better than all, truly pious and devoted to his work. 
He was a very acceptable preacher, having, indeed, 
but few superiors in his day. 



48 EMINENT PEEACHEES. 

Early the next year, after his ordination, he went 
to Strafford, Vermont, and established the first 
Freewill Baptist Church in that State. After the 
Yearly Meeting in Westport, Maine, which author- 
ized the formation of the Farmington Quarterly 
Meeting, in 1794, Buzzell and Randall visited the 
churches on Sandy River, administering the Lord's 
Supper, and to some of them it was the first time. 
Several weeks were spent in that part of the State, 
great displays of Divine power were witnessed, and 
in the town of Phillips every adult person became 
hopefully pious. 

In the early days of the denomination, few min- 
isters confined their labors to a single church, and 
many of them traveled almost continually. There 
being no system to their itinerancy, many of the 
churches were sadly neglected. At the Yearly Meet- 
ing in 1796, a regulating committee was appointed, 
of which Buzzell was chairman, and they were 
clothed with power almost equal to that of bishops 
in Episcopal bodies. It was, perhaps, the most im- 
portant committee ever appointed in the denomina- 
tion. They visited feeble and destitute churches, 
enforced discipline, ordained ruling elders, encour- 
aged young men of promise to the ministry, and did 
whatever they could to supply existing deficiencies. 
Randall often assisted them, and this work em- 
ployed much of their time between two and three 
years. 

The failure of Rev. Samuel Weeks's health had 
left the Parsonsfield Church without preaching and 
pastoral labor. Many had backslidden, and some 



JOHN BUZZELL. 49 

had united with other denominations, so that only- 
eight were left who cared to sustain the interests of 
the church. One of their number was deputed to 
visit Buzzell, lay the facts before him, and extend 
to him a call to settle with them. The question 
was laid before the Middleton Church, and his dis- 
mission reluctantly granted. Buzzell removed to 
Parsonsfield, Maine, March 30, 1798, where he lived 
and labored sixty-five years. The June following, 
he returned from a memorable Yearly Meeting in 
New Hampshire, all imbued with the spirit of his 
Master, and a most precious and extensive work of 
grace immediately commenced and continued for 
nearly three years. Other towns shared in the 
blessing, and hundreds were brought to Christ. 
About this time he attended a series of meetings in 
Standish, preached more than thirty sermons, and 
saw more than forty converts. These successes 
greatly encouraged him in his work. 

In 1802, he went to Vermont, in company with 
Randall and Tingley, and assisted in the establish- 
ment of the Strafford Quarterly Meeting, and in 
the ordination of Nathaniel Brown and Nathaniel 
King. Buzzell preached the ordination sermon of 
the former, and it was one of his great efforts. Its 
power is said to have exceeded its length, which was 
two hours and three quarters. Six years after, he 
presided in the first Yearly Meeting ever held in 
the State. But a continued detail of such labors 
can not be given, as it would extend this sketch to 
undue length. It may be said, however, that he 
continued to preach constantly till within a few 
5 



50 EMINENT PEEACHEES. 

years of his death, and his labors in other respects 
were extensive. 

In 1808, with sixteen other ministers, he was 
present at the funeral of Benjamin Randall. He 
had been selected to preach the sermon, and, by re- 
quest, it was prepared for the press, but never pub- 
lished. At the Yearly Meeting a few days after, he 
was appointed as Randall's successor in the office of 
general Secretary, and the Yearly Meeting records 
and denominational papers were committed to his 
care; and he, more than any other man, filled the 
prominent place of the departed founder of the de- 

. nomination. 

He was the first to correspond with the General 
Baptists of England, and was authorized to conduct 
the correspondence in behalf of the Freewill Bap- 
tists for several years. He was one of the leading 
men in awakening a Foreign missionary spirit in 
the denomination, and was president of the Society 
for a dozen years or more. Buzzell was one of the 
prime movers in organizing the General Conference, 
being Chairman of the Committee to consider the 
question and mature a plan. He was a leading 
member of the first two sessions, and four times 
was in attendance as delegate. In 1831, he sent an 

* epistle, strongly urging the Conference to establish 
a " Book Concern," and an institution of learning ; 
also, to devise some means, if possible, for the bet- 
ter support of the ministry. The Parsousfield Sem- 
inary, the first literary institution in the denomina- 
tion, owes its existence, in no small degree, to his 
untiring efforts. 



JOHN BUZZELL. 51 

As an author, he became somewhat noted, and 
was a vigorous writer. For more than thirty years, 
the denomination had struggled on without an or- 
gan, or periodical of any kind. The Herald of 
Gospel Liberty, a small religious paper published in 
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, by Elias Smith, had 
quite a circulation among Freewill Baptists, and 
promulgated his heretical doctrines of the Divinity 
of Christ, and the annihilation of the wicked. Buz- 
zell had opposed the admission of Smith to the de- 
nomination, because of the above errors, and now 
he was the man to take the pen and counteract the 
alienating influence of that sheet on the minds of 
the rising ministry. In 1811, he commenced the 
publication of A Religious Magazine, a small Quar- 
terly, which he continued for tw T o years, and, in 
1819, resumed it again for two years. It was his- 
torical in part, containing religious intelligence, and 
a few essays on important subjects. It was liberally 
patronized, and answered, in a good degree, the de- 
sign of its publication. 

He is said to have had a hand in publishing the 
Life of John Colby, and is known to have written 
the Life of Benjamin Randall. He published the 
first denominational Hymn-book in 1823, and was 
one of the association which established the Morning 
Star, and for several years was one of its editors, 
though his labor in this capacity was confined to 
the furnishing of an occasional article from his own 
pen. 

At the first General Conference in 1827, Buzzell 
was appointed Chairman of a Committee on Doc- 



52 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

trine, to " investigate and specify the fundamental 
doctrines of the gospel as understood by this con- 
nection, and report at the next General Conference." 
This work was not performed, and, in 1832, he was 
Chairman of a Committee to write a "Treatise on 
the Faith and Usages of the Freewill Baptists." 
The work was prepared by other men ; but the next 
year he was Chairman of a Committee to revise and 
approve the prepared copy. 

It will be seen that Father Buzzell, as he was 
familiarly called, performed no secondary part during 
his long and eventful life. He was endowed by his 
Creator with the characteristics of a leader, and his 
brethren assigned him his true position. He took 
an active part in every progressive movement in the 
denomination for more than half a century, and he 
has, doubtless, preached more ordination, dedication, 
and funeral sermons, than any other man. His 
active spirit and love for souls would allow him 
only the necessary rest, and with great propriety 
may it be said that he lived in communion with 
God and in peace with men. 

As the infirmities of age came creeping on, he 
met less frequently with his brethren in their gen- 
eral gatherings; he was always pleased to welcome 
them at his own house, where many visited him in 
his old age. He never seemed weary of rehearsing 
the scenes of his active life, though all did not re- 
gard him with equal reverence. It is not strange 
that he should sometimes feel, in his second child- 
hood, that his labors and counsel were not appreci- 
ated. His ancestors were noted for longevity, and 



JOHN BUZZELL. 53 

his own health was generally good till near the 
close of life. His pastoral labors in Parsonsfield 
Church were not closed till death dissolved the con- 
nection, though for years he had been able to do 
almost nothing. He had not preached regularly for 
several years; for two or three years he had 
preached only at funerals, and but once on such oc- i 
casion during the last six months of his life. Dur- 
ing the winter preceding his death, his physical 
strength gradually failed ; but he kept about till the 
23d of March, 1863, when he became quite sick. 
He lingered till Sunday morning, the 29th, when he 
entered upon that Sabbath of rest for which he had 
been so long prepared, at the advanced age of 
ninety-six and a half years. His departure, says 
his physician, was "like the going out of a taper." 
His burial was on the first day of April, four 
clergymen and a very large concourse of people 
being present. 

From the day of Benjamin Randall's death, John 
Buzzell was pre-eminently the executive and repre- 
sentative man of the connection, through a course 
of many years. His large natural talent was bap- 
tized in the principles and spirit of the connection, 
and eminently endowed with the " power from on 
high." With his dignified moderation, were energy 
and ardor. With urbanity of manners, were cour- 
tesy, condescension, affability, kindness, and affec- 
tion. With seriousness of deportment and conver- 
sation, were pleasantry, humor, and wit. To eminent 
oratoric talent, was joined the ability of the " ready 
writer." And giving effectiveness to all, was the 



54 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

spirit and principle of full consecration to the gos- 
pel-work, that shrank not from labor, hardship, 
danger of self-sacrifice in property or person, " en- 
during hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ," 
and " counting all things as loss for Jesus's sake." 

With such talents, such endowment, and such 
spirit and principle, he went onward in the great 
reformation from which Randall had gone up, 
" leaving his works to follow him." Greatly 
glorious were the turnings to the Lord, through 
following years, at that " certain sound of the 
trumpet," blown through the land by his survivors 
as he had blown it. Among these, a flaming angel 
of reformation, was Rev. John Buzzell, then in the 
full, ripe strength of his manhood, Christian knowl- 
edge, and experience, with unabated ardor and en- 
ergy, — from his forty to his sixty years. Mightily 
he wielded the aggressive " sword of the Spirit" 
in assault of the world of sin without, and effect- 
ively he interposed the " shield of faith " to the 
" darts of the adversary " arising within the camp, 
in heresies, delusions, and treacheries, by " false 
brethren," or "spies" against the true "liberty in 
Christ Jesus." When such a man lays off his ar- 
mor at the advanced age of nearly one hundred 
years, the Christian public can do no less than re- 
view his honorable career, and acknowledge his 
worth. 



JOHN COLBY. 55 

CHAPTER IV. 

JOHN COLBY. 

John Colby was born in Sandwich, New Hamp- 
shire, December 9, 1787. His father was a native of 
Amesbury, Massachusetts, and his mother of Weare, 
New Hampshire. They were both pious, and 
through their influence and other means of grace, 
John was seriously impressed at the early age of 
eight years. He mentions that soon after this, 
while returning from meeting one day, he had such 
a sense of his guilt that he thought, when he ar- 
rived home, he ought to kneel down and pray. He 
neglected it, and lived without hope. 

When fifteen years of age, his father moved to 
Billymead, now Sutton, Vermont. There new 
scenes presented themselves to his youthful mind; 
acquaintances were formed with the vain, and he in- 
dulged in mirth and sinful pleasures ; but not with- 
out the powerful operations of God's Spirit, calling 
him to forsake his sins and choose the road to 
heaven. When he was nearly eighteen years of age, 
a gracious outpouring of the Spirit was realized in the 
town. He now saw again his perishing need of 
Christ. He fled to him, and obtained, by degrees, 
an evidence of pardon. On the 8th of December, 
1805, he was baptized ; and the next day, being 
eighteen years of age, was received a member of the 
church. 

Soon after this, his mind was exercised relative to 



56 EMINENT PREACH EES. 

preaching the gospel. In dreams of the night, he 
had views of the shelterless condition of the wicked ; 
and was impressed that he must go out into the 
world, and warn the unconverted to flee from the 
impending storm of wrath, gathering over their 
' heads. For nearly four years, he struggled with 
duty and inclination. At length, after spending a 
winter at the academy in Peacham, and laboring 
some at home, he related the exercises of his mind 
to the church. The members were satisfied that it 
was his duty to preach, and recommended him for 
the work. He then began his labors as a preacher, 
and improved in that town and vicinity until about 
the middle of November, 1809. 

He had felt, from the early period of the exer- 
cises of his mind to preach, that he must go to 
Ohio, and proclaim the glad news of salvation to 
the inhabitants of that new State. Having made 
preparation and receiving his tender father's bless- 
ing, he sat out, and, after preaching in several 
places, arrived at Springfield, Vermont, and stayed 
some days. Here two ministers of the gospel felt 
that it was their duty to set him apart to the work 
of the ministry. After some consideration and 
prayer, his consent was obtained, and the ordina- 
tion took place on the 30th of November. After 
this, he pursued his journey west, preaching as he 
went, until the latter part of March, 1810, when he 
arrived in Ohio. He entered the State from Pitts- 
burg, Pennsylvania, and traveled through the 
southerly sections, visiting Zanesville, Chillicothe, 
and many other places, until he reached Cincinnati. 



JOHN COLBY. 57 

Thence he went to Indiana, then a Territory, where 
a few meetings were attended, and returned back, 
through the northerly part of Ohio, into the State 
of Pennsylvania. His course was now east, through 
New York to Vermont. 

On the 6th of July, he arrived at his father's 
house, having been gone about eight months, and * 
having seen much of the goodness and glory of 
God. His labors for the remaining part of that 
year were mostly in the town where his father re- 
sided, and other towns in that vicinity. The power 
of God was manifested in almost every meeting, and 
several were baptized. His next labors were in 
New Hampshire. A very considerable part of the 
year 1811 was spent in what are now Lisbon, Eaton, 
Tamworth, Sandwich, Center Harbor, Moulton- 
borough, and Meredith. In Eaton and Meredith 
the work of reformation was powerful. He bap- 
tized many in most of these places. About the first 
of December he arrived at Montville, Maine, where 
a marvelous display of God's grace was realized. 
He baptized eighty-eight, who, with some others, 
were organized into a church. 

In February, 1812, he left this place, and, return- 
ing home, he endeavored to persuade the people of 
Sutton to build a meeting-house. Finding them re- 
luctant to the work, and, having some property on 
hand, he concluded to build it himself. He accord- 
ingly bought a site, contracted for the lumber, and 
engaged a workman to finish the outside by the first 
of June. Then leaving an appointment to preach 
in it the last Sabbath of June, he started for Rhode 



58 EMINENT PREACIIEBS. 

Island. He did not, however, at this time, go 
further than Providence, and returned in a few 
days. The meeting-house was not entirely finished 
until about two years after it was commenced. At 
last, when it was completed, he said that he took 
more pleasure in seeing his property laid out in 
building a house for worship than any old miser 
ever did in filling bags with silver and gold. 

After visiting many towns in New Hampshire 
and Rhode Island, he returned to Maine, and after- 
ward to Rhode Island, where he spent the most of 
the latter part of 1812, and the fore part of 1813. 
His constitution was never very strong, and while 
here he thought he should soon finish his course. 
Once he prayed that God would convert some of 
the young men, who might bear him to the grave, 
if he should die. Soon four were converted and 
baptized. Again, he chose a man to preach his 
funeral sermon, and made other arrangements for 
his funeral obsequies. His soul, in the meantime, 
was filled with joy unspeakable. 

Mr. Colby was now about twenty-six years of 
age, and, if he had possessed good health, the church 
might have hoped that he was but in the early part 
of his successful career, and that he would long live 
'to bless the world. But his extensive journeys and 
arduous labors had already proved too much for his 
feeble frame. After this, he seldom knew what it 
was to be well in body. Life, however, was pro- 
longed for nearly four years, and he was as useful 
as in any part of his ministry. It seemed, as far as 
related to him, that the angel described by the Rev- 



JOHN COLBY. 59 

elator had commenced his successful flight. For he 
was much of the time passing through different 
parts of New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, 
Rhode Island, and Vermont, blowing the gospel 
trumpet, baptizing the converts, visiting from house 
to house, singing, praying, and conversing with 
saints and sinners. 

His disease was consumption. Sometimes he 
would spend much of the night in coughing, and 
would be so low that his friends would think that 
he ought to have watchers. The next day he would 
preach, and then, although to some it looked like 
presumption, go into the water and baptize. Thus 
he labored, his soul constantly expanding its pow- 
ers, and filling up with the joys of heaven. At 
length, feeble and wearied nature could hold out no 
longer. In the winter of 1817, it was judged that 
the only way that life could be prolonged was to go 
South to seek a warmer climate. In March, he left 
Rhode Island, and went as far as New York City, 
where he remained for a season. The weather soon 
grew warmer, and he concluded to return to his 
friends in Vermont. Here it seemed that he was 
in the last stage of the consumption. He desired 
four of his ministerial brethren to come and pray 
with him. While his father was about to set out 
to invite them, all four of them came for the specific 
object of praying that God would raise him up to 
preach Christ. They prayed in faith, a shower of 
grace came down, and he began to amend from that 
very hour. Soon after he preached and baptized in 
that place. 



60 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

But, as cold weather began to come on, he con- 
cluded to go South. Leaving his father's for the 
last time, on the 10th of September, he journeyed 
rapidly until he reached Norfolk, Virginia, the 31st 
of October. He was so unwell that he could pro- 
ceed no further. He stayed with a deacon of a 
Baptist Church, where he received every attention. 
He was carried to the meeting-house, where he 
preached a sermon on each of two Sabbaths. 
He then said his work was done, and selected a 
place where he wished to be buried. He continued 
to fail until the 23d of November, when he finished 
his course with joy. The name Jesus was repeated 
by him as long as he could articulate. His age was 
twenty-nine years, eleven months, and nineteen 
days. " That life is long which answers life's great 
end." 

His only publication was a volume of his life 
down to near the close of 1815. The rest of his 
journal was left in manuscript, and has since been 
added, and the work has gone through several edi- 
tions. With no attempts at embellishment, no far- 
fetched terms, no learned phraseology, it contains 
but little more than an account of his conviction of 
sin, the surrender of his heart to God, his call to 
the ministry, and the incidents of travels, while on 
his pilgrimage to the land of rest, extending 
through the brief period of eight years. Although 
the headstone of his grave is far away from his 
native New England, yet, besides raising a monu- 
ment in the affections of all who knew him, he has, 
in this narrative, placed a more correct and faithful 



JOHN COLBY. 61 

index to his character, in the hands of those who 
will read it, than the most labored epitaph that was 
ever chiseled on a tombstone. 

John Colby was no more than what might be 
termed a good common-sense young man, with no 
other facilities for an education except such as he 
met with at a few terms of a select school among 
the Green Mountains, — then constantly engaged in 
the ministry, in a way decidedly adverse to the 
habits of application to books. We have, therefore, 
never understood that any one ever claimed for him, 
in the common acceptation of that term, the name 
of a great man. Yet there is a novelty, a singular- 
ity, a secret charm about the life and character of 
Colby. And in what does that charm consist ? We 
answer, it consists in the purity and goodness of his 
heatr. 

John Colby was singularly good. There per- 
vades his writings a spirit which he breathed in his 
life. So much of the Christ-like spirit of Colby as 
we feel while dwelling upon the pages of his 
" Life," so much of Colby we have now ! That 
spirit of good-will, which he cherished and culti- 
tivated, seemed to sanctify and render heavenly the 
atmosphere in which he moved. So that whoever 
fell into his company, even though it were but for 
a few moments, would fall almost involuntarily to 
wishing they were better persons. Riding through 
a neighborhood one warm day, Colby called to the 
door of a house and asked for a drink of water. 
The young lady, who handed him the cooling bev- 
erage, said, that, after receiving it, he pronounced 



62 EMINENT PREACHEES. 

upon her " a disciple's reward." Then, said he, 
"Do you love the Savior?" She answered in the 
negative. " Oh ! then," said Colby, " let no time 
be lost in seeking the salvation of your soul !" 
That young lady went away and wept; and why 
did she weep? Had she not heard as good w T ords 
before? She did more. She repented of her sins, 
and consecrated herself to God ! The secret of his 
power lay in the spirit in which he spoke. He 
preached the gospel, " not in word only, but also in 
power." And whence came this spirit, which so. 
abundantly attended his presence, and accompanied 
his word ? He derived it from his communion with 
God, — his intimate acquaintance with Jesus Christ. 
One man said of him : " The secret of his power 
lay in his prayers." 

John Colby might be called eminently good. One 
would suppose that this was not saying very great 
things of a man. In this consists the mistake of 
our own times ! Sterling piety, eminent goodness, 
conformity to Christ, are not among the first objects 
sought for in this age. The inquiry of by-gone 
days was, " What shall we be?" The inquiry now- 
a-days is, "What shall we do?" No doubt, in 
many things, our fathers did too little ; yet many 
of them cultivated great personal piety ; they rose 
high in the scale of moral excellence. While we 
stand as on an eminence of expanded Christian 
benevolence, and look down on the narrow circle 
within which the piety of our forefathers was in- 
closed, they could stand on an eminence of holy at- 
tainment, and look down on our want of the mind 



JOHN COLBY. 63 

that was in Christ Jesus. Not forgetting for a mo- 
ment all that has been done, Ave would ask, Why 
does the work of this world's conversion to Christ 
move on so slowly, — at home and abroad? Is it 
not for the want, in the men who labor, of that 
Christ-like spirit and God-like power, which every- 
where attended a Xavier, who, in ten years, was 
believed to have been the means of bringing one 
hundred thousand Pagans to embrace Christ in In- 
dia, — which rested on Martyn, who, if he walked 
through a pagan village, and stopped only to con- 
verse with the inhabitants, would leave an abiding 
impression in favor of Christianity, that years did 
not fully erase, — which rested on a Brainerd, 
whose success among the American Indians gave 
proof of his effective piety, — and which rested on 
our own Colby, — whose silent, solemn presence 
only would sometimes produce the deep-toned sigh 
of sorrow for sin in those who beheld him ! 



64 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

CHAPTER V. 

EPHRAIM STINC H FIELD. 

Ephraim Stinchfield was born in New Glou- 
cester, Maine, February 11, 1761, a town about 
twenty miles north of Portland. It was then new, 
permanent settlements having commenced only seven 
years before. Of course there were not, for several 
years, any good advantages for literary or religious 
instruction. It was found, however, that the sub- 
ject of this sketch possessed a mind susceptible of 
rapid improvement, and he was blessed with parents 
who felt interested for him, and who taught him to 
read and write. His parents also were religiously 
inclined, especially his mother, who was regarded as 
a pious woman. By their instruction and influence, 
many of the great truths of religion were made to 
bear most powerfully upon his youthful heart. 

He was often awakened, at seasons, until he was 
seventeen years of age ; but grieved the spirit, and 
wore off the impressions. He then went to New 
York, and enlisted in the American army, which 
was struggling for independence. He served three 
campaigns. He found the army a school of vice, 
and became very vile. Soon after returning home, 
there was a reformation in the town. It began 
under the improvement of some Baptist preachers, 
then called Newlights. He was now again power- 
fully awakened, and, after awhile, resolved to choose 
the way of life at the loss of every thing else. 



EPHRAIM STINCHFIELD. 65 

At an evening meeting, held soon after at his 
father's, an exhortation of a sister of his, who had 
experienced religion a little before, produced such 
distress in his heart that he cried out, in the bitter- 
ness of his soul, " God, be merciful to me a sinner !" 
He earnestly requested others to pray for him. He 
obtained deliverance then, but for several days re- 
mained in great sorrow. At length, he began to 
despair. He thought his day of grace was over, and 
he must sink in woe. He saw most clearly the jus- 
tice of God in his being banished forever. But in 
this extremity, to his great surprise and unspeak- 
able joy, a voice gently whispered, " Peace, be still." 
He had at first some doubts whether this was con- 
version ; but soon his heart was so filled with love, 
that his language seemed to be, " Praise the Lord ! 
Bless the Lord ! Glory to God ! Let every thing 
that hath breath praise the Lord!" For a season 
he prospered well, and was a living, growing Chris- 
tian. But a declension followed. Professors became 
lifeless, and he was so affected by things around 
him, that he neglected duty, and lost his enjoy- 
ment. 

At the age of twenty-two, he entered the married 
state, and plunged into the affairs of the world. 
But his soul had known a better good, and the 
world could not fill it. In 1791, Benjamin Randall, 
whom he had heard preach a few times before his 
conversion, preached at a place in that vicinity. 
Mr. Stinchfield attended, and was made to feel the 
importance of returning to his first love. It be- 
came a season of great religious interest in that 
6 



66 EMINENT PHEACHEES. 

region. Mr. Stinchfield began again to do his duty, 
and found peace and joy in the same. He felt it 
his duty to attend to the ordinance of baptism, and 
was baptized at Raymond, a town adjoining New 
Gloucester, by Mr. Randall, November 8, 1792. It 
was to him a joyful season. 

The very next day, as he was riding toward his 
home, he began to look over the state in which the 
people were. Instantly God led him into his sanc- 
tuary, so to speak, and he saw their awful end. He 
thought of EzekiePs vision of dry bones, and so, 
with the most distressing sensations, he cried with 
•an audible voice, " Can these dry bones live?" 
Next, these words came into his soul with power, 
" Prophecy, son of man." He knew then, beyond 
a doubt, that God was calling him to preach the 
gospel. But he tried to frame excuses, and, finally, 
thought he was willing to part with his little prop- 
erty, worth then five or six hundred dollars, then 
his dear wife and five loving little daughters, and, 
finally, give his own life. But nothing would an- 
swer. He felt that he could say, with Paul, "Ne- 
cessity is laid upon me ; yea, woe is me if I preach 
not the gospel !" 

After a great struggle, he concluded to go for- 
ward. In a public meeting, where another minister 
attended, he read for a text, Hebrews ii, 6 : " But 
one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man 
that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man 
that thou visitest him?" He spoke a few minutes, 
then feeling much embarrassed, sat down, and the 
other preacher finished the subject. He now found 



EPHRAIM STINCH FIELD. 67 

himself in great trial. But he made farther at- 
tempts, and the Lord blessed the word. He soon 
began to travel abroad. In 1795, he went to a 
place called Sandy River, and had a good season. 
In 1797, he visited Waterborough, and saw a good 
reformation. The same year, he had good seasons 
in Lincolnville, Edgecomb, Bristol, Woolwich, Par- 
sonsfield, and other places. The next year, he 
traveled east as far as the Penobscot River. 

In many of the meetings he attended, while he 
was preaching, sinners were cut to the heart, and 
cried out in distress of soul. The year following, 
he attended a Yearly Meeting at Gorham. The 
subject of his ordination came up. Some had doubts 
about the propriety of it. Finally, it was pro- 
posed that he should preach. He consented. His 
text was Isaiah liii, 5 : " But he was wounded for our 
transgressions. " He had a good time, and im- 
mediately after sermon, — November 8, 1798, — it was 
agreed to set him apart to the work of the min- 
istry. While the ordaining prayer was being of- 
fered, a young man, who was awakened by the ser- 
mon, fell and cried for mercy. The power of God 
seemed to fill the house. The young man obtained 
deliverance, and afterward became a preacher. 

Every man whom God has called to preach, who 
lives humble and devoted, feels a love for souls that 
outweighs every earthly affection. Mr. Stinchfield 
was filled with this love, and it led him to make 
every effort in his power to travel abroad and visit 
a fallen world, for the purpose of pointing sinners 
to Christ. He considered himself highly favored in 



68 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

having a wife who was willing to do all she could 
to assist him in his labors. She had experienced 
religion during the early part of his public improve- 
ment, and she was ready to endure suffering for the 
name and sake of Christ. 

In the spring of 1799, he went east as far as Bel- 
grade and Rome, where he saw a glorious reforma- 
tion. On returning home, he found that there had 
been a revival in his own neighborhood. A few 
days after he administered the ordinance of baptism 
for the first time. Three went forward, one of whom 
was his eldest daughter, fourteen years of age. In 
October he went east again, and visited Bristol, 
where a powerful reformation had commenced, 
which seemed to be the fruit of a sermon he 
preached in that place the year before. One of the 
first meetings he attended was for baptism. It was 
at the water-side. He preached a sermon, and 
several cried for mercy. He then baptized forty- 
one, and, in a few days after, nineteen others went 
forward in this glorious ordinance. This seemed to 
him like Pentecost. 

From the year 1800 to 1806, he traveled in each 
year from two to three thousand miles, and usually 
preached two or three hundred sermons. During 
the first of these years, he saw good revivals in 
Camden, Standish, Limington, and several other 
towns. In 1801, he was engaged in a good work in 
Saco. He also visited several towns in the easterly 
part of New Hampshire, and often remarked that 
he felt as much of the glory of God as he could 
contain. In 1803, there were a few conversions in 



EPHRAIM STINCHFIELD. 69 

his own town, and he organized a church of seven 
members. Six others were soon added. The same 
year he witnessed a good work on Squam Island, in 
Edgecomb, where he baptized more than thirty. 

The State of Maine was, at this time, a District 
connected with Massachusetts. The members of the 
Freewill Baptist Connection felt themselves much 
oppressed in being obliged to pay to the standing 
order of ministers, where they did not attend meet- 
ing. If they refused, their property was taken, and, 
in some -instances, imprisonment followed. In 1805, 
a petition to the General Court in Boston was 
drawn up, praying for a redress of grievances, and 
Mr. Stinchfield was chosen, with another man, to 
support the claim of the petition. This rendered it 
necessary for him to go to Boston. He attended five 
sessions of the Legislature; but the prayer of the 
petitioners was not granted. Doors were opened for 
him to preach in Boston, so that he was, while 
there, as usual, engaged in his holy calling. Once 
he preached on Boston Common. 

In 1806, he let his farm to a man who had mar- 
ried his second daughter. He then felt free to 
travel abroad, and preach without the embarrass- 
ments before realized. This year he visited the 
town of Knox. A church was gathered there in 
1802. While he was in this town there was a gen- 
eral outpouring of the spirit. There were then but 
about thirty families in the town. Every person 
over ten years of age gave evidence of piety. The 
church increased to seventy members. In the 
spring he visited Portsmouth and Kittery. In the 



70 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

last place a revival commenced, which continued to 
progress with a good degree of interest the most of 
the time for three or four years. In November, a 
church was embodied there. During the following 
year he spent much time in that town, and bap- 
tized about seventy. He traveled to other places 
also. He had some persecution and severe trials, 
but observed that the joy in seeing sinners con- 
verted, and his children walking in the truth, more 
than compensated him for all he suffered. 

From 1808 to 1811, he continued to travel, visit- 
ing the different parts of the whitening fields, and 
preaching successfully. During the first of these 
years, he labored with energy in Knox, Camden, 
Hope, and Thomaston. In the space of six months, 
it was supposed there were about four hundred 
conversions. He baptized one hundred and seventy. 
In the latter part of the year, he was on Parker's 
Island, in Georgetown, where about two hundred 
were converted; and he had the privilege of bap- 
tizing more than seventy. The next year, as he 
went east, he assisted in organizing a church in 
Dixmont. At Woolwich and Wiscasset, he baptized 
seventy, and about thirty others professed conver- 
sion. After returning home, he went to Kittery, 
where he baptized almost every week for three 
months. He then went to York, and baptized about 
seventy. 

Returning home, his heart was gladdened in wit- 
nessing the displays of Emanuel's power in his own 
town, for which he said he had been praying for 
many years. The work spread first in New Glou- 



EPHEAIM STINCHFIELD. 71 

cester, then into Gray and Poland, until it was 
judged that three hundred were made the subjects 
of God's free grace. Mr. St inch field was in his 
element, preaching, baptizing, praying, exhorting, 
and singing. He baptized in this work one hun- 
dred and fifty. The next year, he traveled abroad 
again, and witnessed a good work in Brunswick, 
where he baptized forty-seven. The year 1811 was 
a time of much declension ; but he was preaching 
as usual. 

It is just to observe, that few, if any, men in the 
Freewill Baptist Connection ever performed more 
labor in the same space of time, than Mr. Stinch- 
field for four years ending in 1809. From his own 
account, it appears that in 1806, he preached three 
hundred and fifty-four sermons, and baptized sixty- 
seven. In 1807, four hundred and thirty-six ser- 
mons; baptized fifty-eight. In 1808, four hundred 
and forty sermons ; baptized two hundred and forty- 
five. In 1809, four hundred and eighty-four ser- 
mons ; baptized three hundred and three. He trav- 
eled in each of these years from two thousand to 
three thousand miles. 

It has been seen that, for about twelve years, Mr. 
Stinchfield traveled extensively to preach the -gos- 
pel ; and that, for the last four or five years, he was 
free from the cares of the world, so that he could 
give himself wholly to the work. But after this 
there was a change. The second war between this 
country and Great Britain came on, and his son-in- 
law, to whom he had let his place, enlisted in the 
service and lost his life. Mr. S. was, therefore, 



72 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

under the necessity of attending to his own affairs, 
and looking after his widowed daughter, who was 
left with four small children. This proved an em- 
barrassment to his mind, as he realized the disad- 
vantages of being entangled with the affairs of this 
life. But he done what he could at home, and in 
the region round about, so that from 1811 to 1819, 
he preached from two to three hundred sermons 
yearly. He had many precious seasons ; but, on the 
whole, he said that he found himself low and dull, 
when compared to what he was when not so much 
entangled with worldly affairs. 

When the year 1820 arrived, he found himself in 
the sixtieth year of his age, and felt that, if he per- 
formed any thing more for God, he must be vigi- 
lant. His mind was not so vigorous, and the in- 
firmities of age were creeping on ; but he still felt a 
zeal for the Lord of Hosts, and resolved to put his 
armor in order for an itinerant siege. In the course 
of the year he went west, and visited York, Kittery, 
Portsmouth, Rye, and some other places. The next 
year, he went east, visited many of the churches 
where he had formerly preached, and gathered 
many into the fold of Christ. 

During the ten years of his absence, great changes 
had taken place. Several of the toil-worn soldiers 
of the cross, that used to greet him with fraternal 
joy, had received a discharge, and passed home to 
rest. Some of the converts, in the reformations he 
witnessed, had received their passports. Some had 
apostatized ; but a goodly number remained steadfast 
in the truth. After preaching a time in many 



EPHRAIM STINCHFIELD. 73 

towns, he returned home. The following years he 
was away much, in the last of which he was much 
at Kittery, where he was engaged in a glorious re- 
vival of religion. Between eighty and ninety were 
baptized. 

In the summer of 1825, he spent some little time 
in Boston, and saw the great procession and parade 
made in honor of General Lafayette, on the 17th of 
June,«fcvhen also the corner-stone of the monument 
on Bunker Hill was laid. He observed that he was 
much affected at the extraordinary and fulsome 
honor paid to this man, and so little worship paid 
to the great Omnipotent Jehovah and Savior of the 
world. 

Soon after returning from this journey, he per- 
formed another in the same State, *and preached in 
Essex, and several towns in the vicinity of Cape 
Ann. In the year 1827, after returning from an 
eastern tour, he was called to attend the funeral of 
a child of one of his neighbors. The funeral being 
over, he, with several others, spent the evening with 
the afflicted family, and, as it proved stormy, the 
most of them stayed all night. Before retiring to 
rest, he gave a faithful exhortation to a man with 
whom he was to sleep, urging him to embrace relig- 
ion without delay. Some time in the night the 
minister heard him groan like one in a dream. In 
the morning, as he arose, he wondered that this man 
was so still. He went back to the bed, and found 
him cold in death ! This was a solemn scene to 
friends and acquaintances. Mr. Stinchfield attended 
the funeral, and preached from these words : " Lest 
7 



74 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I 
say unto you, I say unto all, watch." 

He spent the remainder of this year mostly in 
Portland, Portsmouth, Hampton, Stratham, and 
other towns in these parts, and then went to Kit- 
tery. The church at Kittery, for some time, was 
not connected with any particular denomination. 
Ministers of the Freewill Baptist and Christian 
Connections labored there. A few years before this 
period, the preacher and several of the members 
concluded to join the Christian order, and were so 
reported. But many were dissatisfied ; a division 
took place, forty or fifty members withdrawing, and 
Mr. Stinchfield preached for them. A revival fol- 
lowed, and, in process of time, this body became a 
Freewill Baptist Church. With these brethren he 
closed the year 1827, and commenced 1828. During 
this last-named year he was for a time in Lebanon, 
where a good revival was in progress. He found 
work enough, and was happy in it. While labor- 
ing there, he made a visit to Strafford, New Hamp- 
shire, and attended the New Hampshire Yearly 
Meeting. At that session he preached two great 
sermons, one in the meeting-house, and one in the 
grove. 

In the latter part of 1829, he became somewhat 
connected with political affairs ; but it was much 
against his convictions of duty. He had before this 
been urged to take the commission of justice of the 
peace ; but he resolutely refused, thinking that min- 
isters should attend to their higher calling. At this 
time his friends wished him to be supported as a 



EPHRAIM STINCHFIELD. 75 

candidate for Representative to the State Legislature. 
He was elected, and induced to accept the office. 
He felt unwilling, however, to leave so bad an ex- 
ample to young preachers. The forepart of 1830, 
he took his seat in the House of Representatives. 
Party spirit ran high, and he was far from being 
contented. He concluded he never should be * 
caught in such business again. He preached, how- 
ever, much during the session on the Sabbath, and 
attended many evening meetings. 

He now entered his seventieth year, and not only 
found himself old, but, as Franklin said of himself, 
heavy. Still he traveled more or less until 1835, 
attending Quarterly, Yearly, and four-days' meet- 
ings, and visiting the churches. His memory failed ; 
but, when preaching, he thought it was as good as 
ever. During the winters he could not get out 
much, and, as the state of religion at New Glou- 
cester was low for several years, his days were often 
very gloomy. Sometimes he would preach in his 
own town and vicinity with great animation. 

In the latter part of 1834 and 1835, there was a 
good revival in the town. He had still a desire to 
preach ; but his health was not to be depended upon, 
and he was at a stand relative to making appoint- 
ments, as he was sometimes unable to attend them. 
In September of this last year, he received a par- 
alytic shock, which, for a time, nearly deprived him 
of speech. He continued on this stage of being 
nearly two years longer. He was in a debilitated 
state, however, and was fully sensible that his men- 
tal faculties were impaired. Finally, he failed, and 



76 EMINENT PEEACHEES. 

was confined to his bed. His disorder was of a 
lethargic nature, and he slept, or was in a state of 
insensibility for about four days, when, on the 18th 
of August, 1837, death came, and his spirit fled to 
that God who gave it, to rest, as it is trusted, for- 
ever in glory. His age was seventy-six years and 
six months. 

In person, Mr. Stinchfield was of middling stat- 
ure, but, for many years, quite corpulent. His con- 
stitution was good, and he was capable of perform- 
ing much labor. He was naturally of a very hasty 
disposition ; but, like a wise man, had his passions 
under perfect control. This he maintained as long 
as he lived. At the time he was called into the 
ministry, he had been to school only two weeks, 
and he felt the need of education. His powers of 
mind were strong, and he improved what he could, 
as he had opportunity. He read the Bible much, 
and preached from a great variety of doctrinal and 
experimental subjects. During the year 1826, he 
read the whole of the sacred Scriptures twice, in 
connection with his other labors. 

He was a reformer. He saw the evils of in- 
temperance, and took the ground of total abstinence, 
at an early period of that reformation. He gave 
addresses, and did much for the promotion of the 
enterprise. His soul was in the cause of Sunday- 
schools. For several summers, after he was seventy 
years of age, he had charge of one in his own town. 
It was interesting to see one so aged, with powers 
of mind impaired, engaging with ardor in the relig- 
ious instruction of the youth, and praying most fer- 



EPHRAIM STIXCHFIELD. 77 

vently for the groups that collected on those occa- 
sions. 

His publications were a Memoir of his Life down 
to the year 1811, in a small volume of one hundred 
and five pages; and a work entitled " Cochranism 
Delineated/' published in 1819. Before his death, 
he prepared for the press a continuation of the 
history of his life. Its publication would, no doubt, 
be interesting and profitable. During his ministry 
he baptized more than eleven hundred persons. He 
had eight children, seven of whom survived him. 



78 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

CHAPTER VI. 

PETER CLARK. 

Peter Clark was born in Gilmanton, New 
Hampshire, October 8, 1781. His father's name 
was Samuel Clark, a man suffering from feeble 
health, being subject to frequent attacks of the 
asthma. His mother's maiden name was Mary Fol- 
som. She possessed a firm constitution, and was a 
strong, energetic, and excellent woman. They had 
twelve children, of whom Peter was the ninth. 
Ten lived to rear families, and two died in infancy. 

His mother, as all fit-to-be-mothers do, took great 
pains to instruct her flock in the way they should 
go, not simply in one respect, but in every thing 
possible, whether it pertained to their welfare in 
this life or in that to come. Nor did she labor in 
vain. The final account will show that her patient 
toil was productive of good ; that the seed she so 
carefully scattered, in her humble sphere, took root 
and bore fruit abundantly. The son, whose career 
we are tracing, says: 

" My mother, in early life, commenced teaching 
me to pray and seek the Lord, to shun sin, and fol- 
low the ways of holiness. As soon as I could un- 
derstand it, she began to instruct me in the cate- 
chism, and thus patiently and mildly strove to guide 
my young footsteps in the right path. At eight, I 
was led to pray from my own convictions, and, at 
fourteen, found some religious comfort. But the al- 



PETER CLARK. 79 

lurements of the world prevailed gradually to draw 
my mind away from the right. Little by little I 
left my devotional habits, and went with the young 
people of the place in their parties for dancing, and 
card-playing, and other vain amusements, becoming 
exceedingly enamored with the cards especially, so 
that I could hardly content myself at home. 

" I had previously formed the purpose of becom- 
ing a man in the world. Nor was this purpose lost 
sight of in all my sports. At sixteen, I became con- 
vinced that these indulgences were leading me in 
the wrong way ; and, hence, resolved to abandon 
them. Accordingly at our next party, I frankly in- 
formed the company of my convictions, and resolved 
not to meet with them any more in pastimes ; but 
expressed the wish that we might continue to culti- 
vate mutual friendship, as we had formerly done. I 
now turned my attention to reading the Bible, de- 
voting my moments to that exercise. The next 
spring I returned from a winter's absence, to find 
no little religious interest in the place, Elders Mar- 
tin and Young, with Deacon Kent, having held 
meetings here, and a number of my associates hav- 
ing indulged a hope." 

He came out clear in his religious feelings in 
June, 1798, was baptized in July, by Rev. Richard 
Martin, becoming a member of his church. He 
says : " On the first of September following my 
baptism, by general request, I commenced leading 
the meetings." Note, he does not say, " I com- 
menced preaching," which was really the fact, but 
" leading the meetings," ever speaking of his ini- 



80 EMINENT PEEACHEES. 

tiatory efforts, as well as those of after years, in the 
same peculiarly modest way. When giving ap- 
pointments for meetings, his favorite expression 
was : " I will meet with the brethren/' seldom, and, 
perhaps never, having been heard to say, " I 
preached, or will preach at such a place, or on such 
an occasion." 

His "leading the meetings " soon began to«be 
felt for good among the people, tending to render 
them more intelligent on scriptural subjects, and to 
secure in them greater stability of Christian char- 
acter. At this early age he had gained the reputa- 
tion of being a great reasoner. Hence, on one oc- 
casion, Mr. Martin, pointing him out to a by- 
stander, in the midst of a crowd gathered for meet- 
ing, remarked : " But few men can handle that boy 
in argument." 

When near twenty-one, he spent a short time in 
Whitefield, New Hampshire, preparing a piece of 
land which he had bargained for to settle upon ; 
but from the earnest desire of the people in Gil- 
manton, that he would remain with them and con- 
tinue to " lead their meetings," and finding it need- 
ful to remain near his parents to assist them, he 
soon relinquished his up-country scheme, and set- 
' ; tied down permanently as desired. 

While at Whitefield, he occasionally attended the 
meeting of Mr. Goodall, a Congregationalist, with 
whom he became acquainted, at least so far as to 
find their points of difference in sentiments, often 
having close arguments on these. One day a Cal- 
vinistic Baptist minister preached, holding out Cal- 



PETER CLARK. 81 

vinism in the strongest terms of those times. Mr. 
Goodall followed the sermon, highly commending its 
doctrine and manner, and, turning to Clark, said : 
" Come, let us hear what the young man has to say 
on this subject." The " young man," being thus 
called out, could do no less than to respond. He pro- 
ceeded to state the points laid down, and to trace 
them to their legitimate conclusions, which appeared 
so glaringly absurd, that neither of the ministers 
was willing at first to admit that the points were 
thus presented. But the people could testify that 
Clark was correct, when Mr. Goodall turned upon 
him the question, " Do you not believe that God 
foreknows every thing that comes to pass?" plying 
him also with those texts supposed to sustain high 
Calvinism. Taking it altogether, they had quite a 
lively time for awhile, and the tendency was to open 
the eyes of the people to the inconsistency of the 
Calvinistic dogmas, and thus prepare the way for 
free sentiments to enter. 

Though " the young man " came oif so triumph- 
antly in the public estimation, yet he felt puzzled 
over some questions thrown in his way. He found 
no work that satisfactorily answered them, but had 
heard that the Methodist had issued such a work, 
which he now resolved to obtain, and settle these 
knotty points, at least to his own satisfaction. 

In 1810, Mr. Martin's church extended over a 
large territory. The members living in the region 
where Mr. Clark was " leading the meetings," con- 
stituted what was called the " Third Monthly Meet- 
ing in Gilmanton." January 1, of this year, four- 



82 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

teen brethren and nineteen sisters, being all, or a 
part of them, members, were set off by their request 
to form a separate church, with the accompanying 
vote : "We think it will be for the glory of God, 
that Brother Peter Clark be set apart to the work 
to which God has called him." Hence, January 8, 
he was ordained. The council were Revs. Win- 
throp Young, Richard Martin, Hezekiah D. Buz- 
zell, Ruling Elder Young, and Deacon Kent. The 
meeting was held "at the upper part of Gilmanton 
on the South. " Rich showers of grace were in 
waiting for this new branch of Zion, and many 
were added. 

Up to 1826, the church had stood denomination- 
ally alone, though consorting somewhat with the 
Christians as well as the Freewill Baptists. But 
now the members became unanimous in favor of a 
permanent union with the New Durham Quarterly 
Meeting, which was consummated at the May or 
August session. In 1829, at the August term of 
the Quarterly Meeting, held here, a glorious work 
commenced, which continued for months, spreading 
quite extensively. Revs. Jesse Meader and Hiram 
Stevens labored in the work considerably. More 
than one hundred were hopefully converted. As a 
result, eighteen were added in November, and a 
number at various other times through the winter 
and spring following. Indeed, for a number of 
years after, more or less came in frequently, causing 
a gradual and healthful growth to the cause. 

In 1830, the temperance cause was giving signs 
of life here, and the church was so far advanced as 



PETER CLARK. 83 

to pass, September 1, this resolve, without opposi- 
tion : "Resolved, that it is unbecoming a moral and 
religious people, and especially those who profess to 
be followers of Christ, to use ardent spirits at a 
funeral; and that we will refrain from the evil 
practice both at home and abroad." But the tem- 
perance movement did not stop here ; it kept push- 
ing on toward teetotal triumphs, and, as is ever 
the case where a part are striving for the right, 
while others persist in the wrong, divisions were 
the result both in the church and community. 
Still a barn was raised in the village without ar- 
dent spirits, causing no little excitement in the 
place, such a feat being a perfect novelty there. It 
roused the anti-temperance party to bestir them- 
selves. To show its dissent to so daring an innova- 
tion, and, as they said, to secure the building from 
tumbling down, two men went as representatives, — 
church members, by the way,— and poured rum into 
the mortices. 

Till about this time Mr. Clark's influence had 
been very great over almost and perhaps quite every 
one in the place. A citizen said : " It may be 
greater than any one man ought to exert." But 
now things began to change. As he was marching 
along with the progressive party, he could but lose 
his influence over those who would stay behind. 
Then, in 1834, in connection with the building of 
the factory here, several persons moved in and con- 
nected with the Christian denomination. In 1835 
or 1836, Richard Davis, a preacher of that faith, 
visited them, whom Mr. Clark cordially invited to 



84 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

preach in his meeting-house. But it soon became ap- 
parent that he was using this cordiality for the pur- 
pose of getting up a church here of his own views, 
which was at length accomplished ; — those brethren, 
of rum-mortice celebrity and a few others, disaf- 
fected with the old interest or with individuals con- 
nected with it, withdrawing to make up the num- 
ber. Still Mr. Clark and his people permitted the 
supporters of the new interest to occupy their meet- 
ing-house a part of the time till they had erected a 
house of their own, — the ministers of the two sects 
alternately preaching to the same congregation till 
.1839, when they entered upon separate meetings, the 
one holding their meetings in a school-house when 
the others occupied the meeting-house. 

But despite these divisions, the brethren, during 
the same season, were made the recipients of rich 
blessings from heaven. A precious work of grace 
sprang up among them. Mr. Clark, however, fell 
sick of a fever, with which, he was confined a long 
time. Indeed, his " forty years of leading the meet- 
ings " was now ended. He had to lay aside all pas- 
toral care, and surrender the " leading of the peo- 
ple " to other hands, after which time he would 
often be confined to his house for months together 
by illness. But when he could preach, he would 
embrace the opportunity of supplying at home or 
abroad, as opportunities offered. 

In November, 1805, he married Mary Morrison, 
who died in September, 1841, leaving him a son, an 
only child. In 1849, he again married Mrs. Abigail 
E. Ware, who survived him, as well as his son. 



PETER CLARK. 85 

Mr. Clark was a careful observer of men and 
things ; possessed a tenacious memory ; had a criti- 
cal mind, and cultivated the habit of great exact- 
ness in his language. He did not fail to keep up 
his reputation for argument. But his real forte in 
this was, by asking his opponent questions, to lead 
him almost imperceptibly to himself into perplexity, 
and thus defeat himself. He might easily have been 
a great punster, and a keen satirist. But grace kept 
these qualities largely subordinated, though they 
would crop out occasionally in a very pleasant way ; 
and when they did, his laconic brevity, imperturb- 
able gravity, and peculiar moderation would often 
give his words the most excessive keenness. Amus- 
ing anecdotes of these outbursts are to be heard all 
about among the people. A volume might be easily 
filled with them. 

He was very hospitable, having the happy faculty 
of making those who might call upon him feel per- 
fectly at home ; his inclination was ever to converse 
on religious subjects, or those having a moral bear- 
ing. He shared largely in the confidence, politically, 
of his townsmen, and was sent to the legislature. 

His final sickness was long and severe, bringing 
him down very gradually ; but, during the whole, 
he manifested all the calmness and serenity of his 
younger days, resting fully on the Savior's promise, 
with the firmest assurance that he was going to his 
heavenly reward. Thus he sweetly fell asleep, Nov- 
ember 25, 1865, aged eighty-four. He was peace- 
fully laid away to his final rest, near the house where 
he had so long ministered. 



86 EMINENT PREACIIEES. 

CHAPTER VII. 

ENOCH PLACE. 

The venerable subject of the following para- 
graphs, Enoch Place, was born in Rochester, New 
Hampshire, July 13, 1786. He was the son of 
James and Abigail Place, the former of whom died 
at the age of eighty-two years ; and the latter at 
upward of ninety. Enoch was the oldest who sur- 
vived of ten children. In early life he was of a 
feeble constitution ; but, by being put upon the 
farm, his nerves were strengthened and his health 
greatly improved. To this, no doubt, he owed in 
no small degree that apparent good health which he 
enjoyed in subsequent life; yet, owing to a misfor- 
tune which befell him in early life, he was never 
wholly free from bodily suffering. 

From early life he possessed a desire for knowl- 
edge ; but the opportunity afforded him to obtain it 
was very limited. For several of his earlier years 
he received no instruction in either letters or 
religion, save from his kind mother. The district 
school, which he afterward attended, was a mile 
from his home, and was kept only six or eight 
weeks in the year, and that, too, in mid- winter, and 
in a room of a private dwelling, which was cold and 
poorly lighted. Teachers in those days, though 
considered passable, were sadly deficient in literary 
acquirements. He attended school every winter, and 
learned what he could; but such were the disad- 



ENOCH PLACE. 87 

vantages of his early schooling, that its " imperfect 
effects," says he, " are visible in me to this day." 
Not a sentence of English grammar was taught in 
the school during his connection with it; and the 
branches that were taught, were taught imperfectly. 

It seems that his father intended to put him to 
the goldsmith business, when he should arrive at a 
proper age ; but being a farmer, and finding more 
work to do than hands to do it, he relinquished his 
purpose, and resolved to keep him at home on the 
farm, intending, however, to give him an education 
sufficient for all common business purposes. This, 
however, did not satisfy him. The very thought of 
it made him gloomy. He knew that physically he 
was not adapted to the drudgery of a farm, and, 
therefore, he resolved that should he live to be free, 
he would, cost what it might, go to a public school ; 
and, if no other way opened to defray his expenses, 
he would go on trust, and pay " the bill " by teach- 
ing when he should become qualified. 

The way, however, opened sooner. The family 
physician, Dr. Howe, knew his case, and recom- 
mended some other employment. He proposed to 
take him into his own family as a boarder, that he 
might enjoy the privileges of the village select 
school. To this the parents consented. This pleased 
him well ; and he soon found himself under the 
instruction of a competent teacher, who spared no 
pains to assist his pupil in his studies. He made 
good progress, and, when the term ended, returned 
home, but only to enter another school. Wishing 
to advance in his mathematical studies, he was ad- 



88 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

mitted into the village school at Gonic, two miles 
from home, which he walked daily during his at- 
tendance at the school. In this way he qualified 
himself to teach, and soon entered upon the work, 
teaching in the winter, and working with his father 
on the farm in the summer. 

At an early age his attention was called to the 
subject of religion. He lost a little sister, who was 
his playmate, and who was very dear to him. This 
greatly distressed him. He sought a place where to 
weep, and there he knelt for the first time and 
asked God to have mercy upon him. At the age of 
fourteen, he was visited by a dream which greatly 
alarmed him. He prayed, and resolved to amend 
his life ; but did not, it seems, see the deceitfulness 
of his heart. At sixteen he was stirred up in his 
feelings to seek after God ; but his stubborn will 
refused to submit. At this time there was an inter- 
esting revival in the vicinity where he lived, under 
the labors of the Rev. William S. Babcock, and 
many turned to the Lord, among whom were his 
parents, who, with their family, until now, were con- 
stant attendants of Parson Haven's meeting at the 
Plains. 

This was coming near home. .One night, after 
his father had returned from an afternoon meeting, 
but in great distress of soul for his sins, he called 
his family around him; read his Bible; told them 
that he was a lost sinner ; begged of them to for- 
give him for never praying in his family ; said he 
had lived a Pharisee, trying to substitute good 
works for the grace of God; but he had found out 



ENOCH PLACE. 89 

that it would not do ; he " must be born again." 
Turning to his son, as he was about to kneel down 
to pray, he said : " Enoch, you can read the Bible 
better than I can ; you have talents for which you 
must give account to God ; will you, my son, jofti 
with me in prayer ?" This came well nigh bring- 
ing him upon his knees, but he resisted. The father 
prayed, and so did the mother, and both of them 
were made happy in the Lord. The children wept, 
and so did the hired help. It was an era that had 
not been dreamed of in that family. 

From this time our young friend became more 
thoughtful, and was encouraged to seek the Lord. 
Previously, he says, he was proud, full of vanity, 
and wished to make a show in the world, particu- 
larly in dress ; but now he thought less of it. It 
was evidently a turning point in his life. One ob- 
stacle stood in his way. He feared, if he became a 
Christian, he should have to be a preacher of the 
gospel, and this idea he could not indulge. He was 
very attentive at meetings, — preaching and social ; — 
was very much interested in Mr. Babcock ; accom- 
panied him to his appointments ; read the Bible, 
but secretly, lest it should be thought he meant to 
be a preacher ; scrupulously observed the Sabbath, 
and loved the society of Christians. 

At the age of twenty, he was employed to teach 
a school in the upper part of Barrington — now 
Strafford — near Barnstead line. This was in the 
winter of 1806. A revival of religion was in prog- 
ress in the place at the time under the labors of 
Deacon William Saunders. Meetings were frequent, 
8 



90 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

almost every evening in the week, the most of 
which he attended. Allow him here to tell his 
own story : 

" My convictions were now renewed, and came 
upon me like an armed man. My pupils were con- 
verted one after another, and I soon discovered a 
manifest alteration in the character of my school. 
In the prayer-meetings, nearly all the professors and 
converts would exhort with great power. Even 
little boys would tell how they loved the Savior, 
and then fall upon their knees and pray for him 
whom they called their ( dear master/ This was 
more than my proud and unbelieving heart could 
endure without emotion, 

" One night meeting was held at Mr. David 
Drew's, in Barnstead, two miles from my boarding 
place. I attended. The exercises had progressed 
only a short time before I attempted to rise and re- 
late some of my feelings; but I seemed fastened to 
my seat. Others would rise and speak ; but I could 
not get confidence to do so. At length, putting my 
hands on the seat each side of me, and, with a firm 
reliance on God's aid, I resolved to rise. But while 
rising, these words were forced on my heart: 'You 
wicked wretch, will you open your mouth for God, 

1 and speak in meeting ? Do it, if you dare ; he will 
instantly strike you dead !' This was a terrible 
shock to me, and I sank back in despair. I cried 
to God for help, and he heard me. I soon believed 
that this suggestion was from the devil. The ex- 
cited state of my feelings passed off; I arose de- 

, liberately and proceeded to relate the state of my 



ENOCH PLACE. 91 

soul ; but such was my sense of guilt, I was unable 
to proceed very far. Falling on my knees, I cried 
aloud for mercy. How long I was in this position, 
I have no means of knowing. Christians were 
praying around me. I said : * O Lord God Al- 
mighty, if there is one drop of mercy in heaven 
that has never been bestowed on a lost sinner, let 
that drop be bestowed upon my poor soul/ In- 
stantly I felt peace ; my heart was filled with love ; 
and I could say, i Glory to God in the highest P " 

This was on the 5th of March, 1807, from which 
time our young friend bore a living testimony for 
the Redeemer. He commenced praying in his 
school, at his boarding-house, among the citizens of 
the place, as he had opportunity to call upon them. 
He took some part in every meeting, and resolved 
to neglect no duty made known to him. In the 
spring, when his school closed, he returned home, 
and soon after attended monthly conference with his 
parents, at Rev. Micajah Otis's house, at Crown 
Point, in Barrington, a few miles only from home. 
This was a joyful meeting. The company of the 
old saints, who had long prayed for his conversion, 
was to him now sweet " as the dew of Hermon, and 
the dew that descended upon the mountains of 
Zion." 

Tuesday, May 12, 1807, he related his Christian 
experience in a public meeting at Crown Point, was 
baptized by Mr. Otis, and united with the Freewill 
Baptist Church in that place, which relation was 
continued till near the close of life. He felt great 
peace in submitting to the authority of Christ in 



92 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

this ordinance, and, like one of old, who believed 
and was baptized, " went on his way rejoicing." 

Not long after this, what he once feared came 
upon him, — a sense of duty to preach the gospel. 
Nor was he long in deciding. Reading his Bible, 
and going to God in fervent prayer, he became fully 
satisfied that it was his duty to engage in the solemn 
work. June 3d, he made his first effort. It was in 
the neighborhood where he taught school, and where 
he experienced religion the previous winter. His 
text was Genesis iii, 9 : " And the Lord God called 
unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?" 
Next day he preached at Captain McNeaPs, his late 
boarding place, from James i, 27 : " Pure religion 
and undefiled before God and the Father is this," 
etc. Next Sabbath he preached at the " Temple," 
so-called, at Crown Point, to a large assembly, from 
Solomon's Song, ii, 3 : "As the apple-tree among the 
trees of the wood," etc. Thus we have followed 
him until we have fairly seen him initiated into his 
work, — a work in which he took supreme delight, 
and which he prosecuted for fifty-seven years with 
little interruption. His preaching places were 
mostly Barrington, — including what is now called 
Strafford,— Rochester, Farmington, and a few other 
neighboring towns. 

September 29, 1808, he was married to Miss Sally, 
oldest daughter of Captain Daniel Demeritt, of Bar- 
rington, who was ever a true and faithful companion 
to him. To them were given nine children, seven 
of whom survived their honored father. 

January 20, 1813, the New Durham Quarterly 



ENOCH PLACE. 93 

Meeting convened at Crown Point, and was con- 
tinued three days. On the third and last day, Mr. 
Place was set apart to the work of the ministry by 
prayer, imposition of hands, charge, and right-hand 
of fellowship. The season was one of much interest. 

In the spring of 1824, he removed from his 
father's in Rochester into Strafford, and took charge 
of the third church, — Strafford Ridge, — where he 
has since lived, and where the greater portion of his 
Sabbath labors has been performed. A consider- 
able portion of his work has been bestowed upon 
the second church, — Crown Point, — where he first 
united ; and upon some neighboring churches. His 
field has been a large one, and often traversed. He 
has been a pastor and a missionary too. To give 
an account of the body of his ministry, contained in 
so many years, would require a volume. 

Though living on borrowed time, as the period is 
designated beyond "three score years and ten," it 
does not appear that any thing serious was appre- 
hended till a few years before his death. Early in 
the previous summer, he was seized with a violent 
attack of diarrhoea, followed by successive attacks, 
which greatly prostrated him. Still he was able to 
prosecute his work for some time, until the heart 
disease, from which he had suffered more or less for 
years, and which was the immediate cause of his 
death, set in with greater violence, when he was 
hurried rapidly along to the close of life. From 
this time he continued gradually to decline until his 
death, though occasionally able to attend meetings, 
and sometimes to preach. 



94 EMINENT PEEACHEES. 

January 1, 1865, he wrote in his journal: " Our 
morning devotions were suitable to the occasion. 
After fifty-seven years and six months spent in the 
ministry of the gospel, I have commenced another 
year, but in poor health. God help me to live and 
die at my post of duty !" 

From this he was confined mostly to his house. 
He did, however, go out and make a few visits, and 
attended one or two funerals, but with much diffi- 
culty. His last public service was at the funeral 
of Mrs. Lemuel Drew, of Barrington, a widowed 
lady of eighty-six years. He preached from Rev- 
elation xiv, 13 : " Blessed are the dead that die in 
the Lord," etc. There was weeping both by speaker 
and hearers. At the close the people gathered 
around him, and took their leave of him, never ex- 
pecting to hear the gospel again from his lips. This 
was on the 12th of January. Several physicians 
visited and prescribed for him, but to little effect. 
His sun was going down. 

January 18, he wrote : " We had a solemn monthly 
meeting in our parlor to-day, — eleven present. My 
illness was severe. I prayed, sang, and exhorted 
for the last time in these meetings, unless a great 
change is wrought in my poor, feeble, suffering 
body." 

" Sunday, March 5. A day long to be remem- 
bered. In the afternoon all our children, most of our 
grandchildren, and several friends and brethren were 
present. We had a religipus service. Bolstered high 
up in my bed, I led in singing, "Lord, at thy 
temple we appear," etc, Then I led in prayer. 



ENOCH PLACE. 95 

Mrs. Place followed. I closed with a solemn talk. 
Lt was a season of much weeping." 

" March 16. About twelve o'clock had a dread- 
ful fit of heart-complaint. My family were called, 
expecting- to see me breathe my last; could not 
speak — no pulse — but a step between me and death. 
Afterward revived, and could talk a little with my 
family." He had two other paroxysms, one of which 
was very .severe. He says : " My dear wife stood by 
me, solacing me by every attention. I prayed God 
to bless and comfort her, who must soon be left a 
poor, lone widow. It has been a hard struggle to 
give her up, and leave her alone. But I have 
given all up to God. I leave her in his hands, who 
has promised in his word to be the widow's God, 
and a father to the fatherless." 

" March 17. Was very low through the night, 
weak and faint, and had to be fanned continually. 
Did not expect to see the light of another day ; yet 
1 1 still live/ and have been able to talk a little with 
my family." 

March 18. At three o'clock this morning his 
paroxysms returned. The windows were thrown 
open ; the cold sweat stood in large drops upon his 
face; he was unable to swallow or speak for awhile, 
but rallied again. At nine o'clock he called for 
paper, pen, and ink, and with "beating heart and 
trembling hand," wrote: "Remember the words I 
spake unto you, while I was yet with you." These 
were the last words he ever -wrote. He requested 
that they should be sent in and read to the brethren 
and sisters who should assemble in monthly confer^ 



96 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

ence in the afternoon, — and likewise should be 
placed on his breast when he should lie in his 
coffin, — which was accordingly done. 

March 19. He dictated the following, which was 
his last : " Still alive, and suffering dreadfully ; 
growing weaker every hour. This is probably the 
last Sabbath I shall ever see this side of the spirit 
land. Every exertion is made by all my dear 
family to keep this poor mortal body with them as 
long as they can. Oh ! may we be one united 
family in that blessed world where sin and sorrow, 
pain and death, shall never come !" 

Among the thoughts which he uttered in his last 
moments, but which were not committed to paper, 
are such as the following. He spoke with the 
greatest satisfaction of the foundation on which he 
stood ; said he had preached the same gospel which 
he believed when he was converted ; had endeavored 
to work faithfully for God, but mourned that he had 
accomplished so little good. " Tell the ministers," 
said he, " to preach Christ " — " preach the Word " — 
" the nearer Jesus the greater the light." " Sing 
and praise God when I am gone ; my sufferings are 
at an end !" Deacon S., about to leave him, ex- 
pressed the hope that if they never met again on 
earth, they should meet in heaven. "Amen," was 
the reply. His utterance failing, he said to his son, 
w T ho stood near him : " Faith — stronger." "Hope — 
sure." His last words were addressed to his wife: 

" God bless you," when he immediately 

expired. He died on the morning of March 23, in 
the seventy-ninth year of his age, and in the fifty- 



ENOCH PLACE. 97 

eight of his ministry. His sun went down without 
a cloud, his consciousness remaining to the last. 

It should have been remembered in place, that on 
the morning of January 5th, while preparing to go 
away, his son asked him where he was going. His 
reply was, " To look me out a new home," meaning 
a burial-place. Though very feeble, he rode to 
Crown Point, five miles from his residence, and, 
after pausing a little at Deacon Berry's, he walked 
up to the beautiful little cemetery near the meeting- 
house, where the deacon gave him the choice of all the 
lots unsold. He made his selection and returned. 

The Sabbath following his death, the funeral rites 
were performed in the meeting-house, at Strafford 
Ridge, where he had so longe labored, a large con- 
course of people attending. Several ministers were 
present, of whom Rev. Hosea Quinby, D. D., deliv- 
ered the funeral discourse. It was a season of great 
solemnity. Many were in tears when they looked 
upon him for the last time, and reflected that they 
should hear the sound of his voice no more. Services 
ended, his remains were borne away to his "new 
home," at Crown Point, where they will rest till 
the "heavens be no more," 

" Father Place," as he was familiarly called, was 
a good man. By this is meant that he was a Chris- 
tian. No one will doubt this who knew him, and 
who is capable of appreciating real worth. It is 
true, like other men, he had his faults. He knew 
these, and often deplored them. But these were the 
exceptions, and not his true character. He was a 
friend to all mankind, and seemed to take it for 
9 



98 EMINENT PREACHERS, 

granted that all mankind were friends to him. This 
was his vulnerable point, and hence, he did not 
always exercise that carefulness over his life and 
conversation that prudence would dictate. This 
rendered him liable to the aspersions of that class 
of mind that can see no good beyond a fault, and 
which, instead of excusing a fault, take delight 
in magnifying it. This is cannibalism. Beyond 
these occasional imperfections there was a nobleness, 
an excellence of spirit in him that commanded pro- 
found respect. 

" Few knew him but to love him." He was 
kind, courteous, obliging. He knew full well how 
to beguile the social hour, and cause it to pass away 
pleasantly. His love of conversation was seldom 
equaled. He indulged no ill-will toward any one. 
If, at any time, his spirit was irritated by the mis- 
conduct or ill treatment of others toward him, the 
feeling was soon over. He allowed no settled grudge 
to take possession of his bosom. To use the expres- 
sion of his resident son, " He never would allow the 
sun to go down on his wrath." He could forgive 
when forgiveness was sought; and, on the other 
hand, no one was ever more hearty to ask forgive- 
ness than he, when he saw and felt that he w T as 
* wrong. His love to Christ absorbed every thing 
else. His heart was the temple of a warm and ear- 
nest piety, which evinced itself in his abounding 
labors for the conversion of sinners. 

He was a useful man. His gifts and position 
qualified him for eminent usefulness. The people 
of Strafford and neighboring towns will be the best 



ENOCH PLACE. 99 

judges of this. He served his fellow-citizens for 
some time as town clerk. When it was the prac- 
tice to call out the militia annually for inspection, 
he served as chaplain of one of the New Hampshire 
regiments. His visits to the sick-room, and his 
calls to attend funerals, were numerous. Few min- 
isters in New Hampshire, it is believed, have per- 
formed so much labor of this kind as he did. The 
number of funerals which he has attended is not far 
from sixteen hundred. He served his brethren in 
the denomination in various capacities, from presid- 
ing officer in General Conference, down to church 
clerk. For many years he was clerk of the New 
Hampshire Yearly Meeting, and also clerk of the 
New Durham Quarterly Meeting. He was Secre- 
tary of the New Hampshire Charitable Society from 
its commencement. He was one of the Trustees of 
the Printing Establishment at Dover. He was 
often on councils, and had a place in almost all the 
boards of benevolent operations, such as missions, 
education, Sabbath-schools, and the like. Owing to 
his ability in prayer, he was probably often er called 
upon at public gatherings to open the meeting than 
any other one. 

As a preacher, he was warm and earnest. His 
soul was the welcome receptacle of Bible truths, and 
most faithfully did he seek to give utterance to those 
truths. As he said of himself in his last labors, he 
" felt like a dying man, talking to dying men." 
He was not always equally happy in his manner of 
speaking. Sometimes there seemed to be a suspen- 
sion of thought with him, and he appeared confused, 



100 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

hemming, etc. It may be that it was a mere habit. 
But, as he began to warm up with his subject, he 
would lose sight of his impediments, and his soul 
would swim as in " a place of broad rivers and 
streams." There was then an unutterable unction 
in his preaching. Every thing moved that could be 
moved by the human voice. This was especially 
true in his earlier days. His voice was clear, and 
sonorous. His appearance was commanding. He 
had great facility in weaving anecdotes into his 
preaching, which often told well on his audience. 
And sometimes he would rise to such a pitch in his 
feelings, that one would think that what he could 
not carry by persuasion, he would — to use the ex- 
pression of the late Dr. Porter, of Andover, — take 
by " assault." He has been heard to cry out in his 
discourse, " Ground your arms, ye rebels I" " He 
spake as one having authority, and not as the 
Scribes." 



GEORGE LAMB. 101 

CHAPTER VIII. 

GEORGE LAMB. 

It is to be deeply regretted that Mr. Lamb kept 
no diary; as, in consequence, many interesting in- t 
cidents of his life are now lost beyond recovery. 
Being constantly employed in the duties of the min- 
istry, he did not take time to record the passing 
events in which he was concerned, or his reflections 
upon them, — a course which would not be com- 
mended as a precedent. We shall, therefore, in this 
article, give only a brief outline of the leading facts 
respecting him, and a few practical remarks. 

The subject of this notice was born in Lincoln- 
ville, Maine, in 1788. He indulged a hope in Christ 
at the age of fourteen, was baptized, and united 
with the Freewill Baptists, which connection he re- 
tained through life. When twenty-five years old, 
he commenced preaching in his native town, where 
his labors were made a blessing to many. He was 
soon after ordained, and entered the life of an itin- 
erant. About this time he spent several months on 
Parker's Island, where an extensive revival at- 
tended his ministrations. He then visited Rhode 
Island, and traveled with Mr. Colby. Thence he 
returned to Maine, and commenced preaching in 
Brunswick, May, 1816. His first effort was to set 
the church in order, which was in a scattered and 
disordered condition. A reorganization was effected; 
a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit followed, 



102 EMINENT PEEACHERS. 

usually denominated in that vicinity, " the great re- 
vival," and the church was rendered large and effi- 
cient. About this time he labored considerably, and 
with success, in Harps well and Phipsburgh ; in each 
of which towns he organized a church, and was in- 
strumental of winning quite a number of souls to 
Christ. During the first six or seven years of his 
ministry he traveled extensively, labored arduously, 
and was almost constantly engaged in revivals. 

In 1817-18, Mr. Lamb married, settled in Bruns- 
wick, and took the pastoral charge of the Freewill 
Baptist Church in that town. Here he preached 
statedly, and to good acceptance, seventeen years ; 
during which time there were several revivals, and 
considerable additions made to the people of God. 
Although his congregation was scattered over an 
extensive territory, it was generally large, and the 
church discipline well preserved. He was a faith- 
ful pastor, and deeply devoted to the interests of 
his charge ; yet his labors were not wholly confined 
to them. He occasionally visited other places, and 
in this way contributed much to the prosperity of 
Zion. 

In 1832 or 1833, he requested a dismission from 
the people of his charge ; but so unwilling were 
they to part with him, although he had preached to 
them constantly about fifteen years, that he was 
prevailed upon to withdraw the request. But in the 
summer of 1835 it was renewed, and he obtained a 
dismission. Soon after, application being made to 
him, he commenced laboring in Bangor, gathered a 
church there, to which he "ministered during the 



GEORGE LAMB. 103 

winter, and was enabled to do much for their fur- 
therance in the gospel. They earnestly desired him 
to become their pastor, but the state of his health 
did not allow of it. 

At the session of the Bowdoin Quarterly Meet- 
ing, March, 1836, he was appointed on a committee 
to visit the church in Topsham. This church had 
been for years in a languishing condition, and it 
was expected the committee would report that it 
had lost its visibility. But when they met, the 
brethren in that place resolved to make one more 
effort for spiritual life. They immediately pur- 
chased a house for worship, and engaged Mr. L. to 
preach with them half the time for a year. A re- 
vival soon commenced, which continued through the 
spring and summer. In speaking of the circum- 
stances, he remarked : " We came here to attend the 
funeral services of the church ; but, when we came, 
behold, the dry bones began to revive !" During 
this revival, Mr. L. baptized about forty of the 
converts, and added them to the church. The pros- 
pects of the society were now flattering, and they 
immediately contracted to build a new meeting- 
house. He continued to preach with them one- 
half of the time, and divided the rest of it between 
Brunswick village and Harpswell. But while thus 
busily engaged, he was suddenly called away by 
death from his field of usefulness! 

Mr. Lamb was highly esteemed and much beloved 
wherever he labored. His disposition was mild and 
pleasant, and his manners graceful and agreeable. 
As a Christian, he was humble, devoted, and ex- 



104 EMINENT PEEACHEES. 

emplary. As a minister, he was able, plain, and 
faithful ; he shunned not to declare the whole coun- 
sel of God. Although not favored with the early 
advantages for literary acquirements which young 
men now enjoy, yet he possessed the peculiar fac- 
'ulty of making the most of what acquirements he 
had ; and his stock of knowledge was constantly in- 
creasing, as he made observations on persons and 
things, and attentively studied the Word of God. 
His natural endowments were more than ordinary. 
He possessed a discriminating mind, a strong in- 
tellect, a vivid imagination, a good understanding, 
and a sound judgment. In his public discourses he 
was pointed, clear, instructive, and edifying. His 
language was usually correct and forcible; often 
sublime ; and frequently he broke forth in such 
melting strains of heavenly eloquence, that the 
hearts of his congregation were imperceptibly drawn 
from earth, and borne away to converse with eternal 
scenes. 

Christ and his cross was his favorite theme. He 
always strove to conceal himself behind his Savior, 
while, in glowing colors, he often portrayed the suf- 
ferings of the Lamb of God, and presented the 
glorious Eedeemer as one that is Almighty and able 
to save. Still it was not his prerogative merely to 
ruffle the surface of the mind, and leave his hearers 
in doubt what had affected them ; but^ commending 
himself to every man's conscience in the fear of 
God, he would make them deeply feel that it was 
their duty and high privilege to live to Christ. 
His object was not to move the passions only, but 



GEORGE LAMB. 105 

to impress truth upon the understanding, and plant 
right principles in the heart. Although modest in 
his deportment, and unassuming in his manners, yet 
he ever sustained the dignity of the ministerial 
office, and commanded respect from friends and foes. 
His counsel was eagerly sought and highly regarded 
by his brethren in the ministry, who esteemed him 
as a father in the gospel. 

He was a decided friend of improvement. He 
zealously, and on all suitable occasions, advocated 
missions, education, temperance, Sabbath-schools, 
and support of the ministry. To the extent of his 
ability, he labored to promote system and gospel 
order in the churches. His faithful labors, in con- 
junction with others, in behalf of these objects, in 
the Bowdoin Quarterly Meeting, were appreciated by 
many ; and, when he was taken from the walls of 
Zion, the friends of benevolence and improvement 
there felt, that a strong man had fallen in Israel. 
In these exertions he encountered much opposition, 
but persevered notwithstanding, and was highly in- 
strumental in obtaining that state of wholesome 
order and discipline which now distinguishes the 
Bowdoin Quarterly Meeting. In his efforts, though 
prompt and fearless, he was mild and judicious; so 
that whatever opinions might be entertained of the 
particular measure he was advocating, no one could 
help honoring the motives by which he was actuated. 
His prudence and manifest sincerity disarmed many 
of their prejudices, who, under less favorable cir- 
cumstances, might have remained unconvinced. 

Mr. Lamb was no time-server. He never moved 



106 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

hastily and without deliberation; but his purpose 
once fixed, he was not easily diverted from it. He 
never clothed himself in ambiguity, so that it was 
difficult to determine what position he occupied. 
When he spoke he was understood, and the ground 
he took was readily perceived. He never courted 
popularity ; whatever might be the consequence to 
himself, he aimed to declare the whole truth, plainly 
and in love. Whenever reproof was needed, he 
pointedly administered it, even to his most esteemed 
friends. In a word, decision and firmness were 
prominent features in his character. 

He lived agreeably to his profession. His private 
life did not neutralize the effects of his public 
labors, but was in harmony with them. He preached 
as though addressing immortal beings, soon to ap- 
pear with him at the judgment seat of Christ; and 
he lived before them in a manner becoming a min- 
ister of the gospel. The seriousness and gravity 
which he invariably maintained in the pulpit, he 
preserved in all the walks of private life. Although 
affable, familiar, and accessible to all, he never in- 
dulged in levity or trifling conversation. In his 
business concerns, it was apparent to every observer, 
that his treasure was not on earth, but in heaven ; 
and conscientious integrity was ever visible in them. 
In the family circle he was uniformly kind and 
agreeable ; and, in his family devotions, regular and 
fervent. He was never idle, but always usefully 
employed; in visiting, conversation, reading, writ- 
ing, and suitable exercise, his time was well appro- 
priated. He exhibited remarkable mildness and 



GEOKGE LAMB. 107 

self-possession. A remarkable equanimity was 
always apparent in his feelings ; never highly 
elated, and never melancholy. 

He was deeply devoted. This appears from pre- 
ceding observations. Bat, it may be proper to re- 
mark in addition, that he suffered severely from the 
effects of the disease which terminated his life, dur- 
ing nearly the whole of his ministry. Doubtless 
many, with his state of health, would have desisted 
from ministerial duties altogether; yet few healthy 
men have performed a greater amount of arduous 
labor in the same time. When almost prostrate 
with weariness and disease, he would say : " I shall 
soon put off this corruptible body, and then it will 
not be matter of reflection, that I have done too 
much for Christ." 

He was not a sectarian. He was indeed decided 
in his principles, strongly attached to the people of 
his choice, and contended earnestly for the faith 
once delivered to the saints, as he understood it. 
Yet, he was far from being exclusive in his views, 
but was charitable and courteous toward his breth- 
ren of other denominations, and possessed their con- 
fidence in a high degree. He would not proselyte. 
A difficulty once arose in a neighboring church of 
a sister denomination; a majority of the members 
became dissatisfied, and sent a deputation to Mr. 
Lamb, requesting him to come and organize them 
into a Freewill Baptist Church ; but, after obtain- 
ing a fair understanding of the case, he refused to 
go, saying that his work was to unite and build up, 
not to divide and destroy. He showed that he 



108 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

loved all his heavenly Father's children, and would 
not sacrifice the general interests of Zion to pro- 
mote any selfish or partisan purposes. It was a 
leading sentiment with him, that the church mili- 
tant is one, and that the different portions of it 
should, on all occasions, strive for each other's wel- 
fare. 

He was a valuable counselor. In resolving diffi- 
cult questions, and the management of perplexing 
affairs in the church, his judgment was much re- 
lied on. His preaching was of a very practical 
character, affording an abundance of excellent in- 
struction. A young preacher once requested his ad- 
vice in relation to the method of preaching. The 
following, in substance, were his directions : "Before 
you preach in a place, endeavor to become well ac- 
quainted with the circumstances of the people you 
are going to address. Consider what their present 
condition most needs. Then study thoroughly the 
subject which you are to present them, and aim to 
adapt it, in every respect, to their circumstances and 
wants. Seek, by fervent prayer and devout medita- 
tion, to be deeply imbued with the spirit of what 
you communicate. In your preaching, be natural, 
in earnest, and to the point." He used to remark 
that the effect of much good preaching was lost 
from being inappropriate, not adapted to the condi- 
tion and circumstances of the hearers ; and that many 
preachers accomplish but little, for want of study 
and reflection. 

Without being able to enter more into detail in 
relation to this worthy man, we hasten to the clos- 



GEORGE LAMB. 109 

ing scene of his life. He had suffered much for 
years from a complaint, supposed to be the asthma ; 
but was not confined to his room until a few days 
before his death. Sabbath, December 4, 1836, he 
preached twice in Topsham, and, in the evening, in 
Brunswick village. This was his last discourse, and 
was founded on Lamentations iv, 1, 2 : " How is the 
gold become dim !" etc. These discourses were very 
solemn and weighty, and possessed the character to 
be expected of one, who felt that his work on earth 
was about done. At the close of this third service, 
he complained of indisposition, and was unable to 
take the lead of a social meeting which followed. 
Tuesday, of the same week, he was confined to his 
house. His case was not considered dangerous until 
a day or two before his death ; but he frequently 
expressed doubts as to his recovery. During his 
illness he manifested great composure and resigna- 
tion ; feeling that for him to live was Christ, and to 
die was gain. He quietly yielded up his spirit to 
him who gave it, Wednesday, December 14th, in the 
forty-ninth year of his age. It appeared, from a 
post-mortem examination, that his disease was an 
enlargement of the vital parts. His heart was twice 
the size of that of a man in health, and was liter- 
ally drowned in water. 

At his funeral an appropriate discourse was de- 
livered by Rev. Silas Curtis, from Psalm cxii, 6 ; 
and his remains were followed to the grave by a 
numerous procession, composed of relatives, min- 
isters, members of the two churches, of which he 
was pastor at the time of his decease, citizens of the 



110 EMINENT PEEACHEES. 

place, etc. The feeling which pervaded the large 
assembly, convened on the occasion, seemed to say : 
" The community has sustained a great loss." Dur- 
ing the summer of 1837, a powerful revival was en- 
joyed in the society to which he devoted the greater 
part of his life ; and numbers of the converts, while 
relating their experience, referred their first perma- 
nent religious impressions to reflection upon his 
faithful admonitions, and particularly to the circum- 
stance of noticing the inscription on the bosom of 
the corpse on the day of its interment : " Remember 
the words which I spoke unto you, while I was yet 
With you." Well might this text of Scripture be 
applied to this case : " Blessed are the dead who die 
in the Lord from henceforth ; yea, saith the Spirit, 
that they may rest from their labors, and their works 
do follow them." 



BENJAMIN THOEN. Ill 

CHAPTER IX. 

BENJAMIN THOEN. 

Benjamin Thoen was born at New Gloucester, 
Maine, March, 1779. He was the son of pious parents, 
who settled in Lewiston when he was only nine months 
of age. The town was then newly settled, contain- 
ing only a few scattered inhabitants. He appears to 
have been interested in religion at an early age, 
owing to the deep interest and earnest faith of his 
saintly mother. When about seventeen years of 
age, he listened to the first Freewill Baptist min- 
ister, Benjamin Randall, who preached in Lewiston. 

The religious views and doctrines of Mr. Randall 
were embraced by him, his parents, and quite a num- 
ber of others, and formed substantially the basis of 
his life and ministry. About this time, or a little 
later, he made a journey, with his mother, on foot, 
some sixty miles, through an almost unbroken wil- 
derness, to attend a Yearly Meeting, where he be- 
came much strengthened and edified, and resolved 
upon his future course of Christian labor. 

In the year 1800, a few persons with himself 
were organized into the First Freewill Baptist 
Church in Lewiston, and, after nine years of earnest, 
painful, and prayerful consideration, he was or- 
dained to the work of the gospel ministry. From 
a partial diary, we learn that his travels and labors 
were considerable, mostly confined, however, to the 
central and western portions of the State. Difncul- 



112 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

ties common to those times were overcome, trials 
patiently endured, sacrifices cheerfully made, and 
many sinners won to Christ. 

When the old Lewiston meeting-house, which 
stood about one mile east of the river, was removed 
to a more central location, the first church dis- 
banded and re-formed at the then village. Mr. 
Thorn was deeply interested in the enterprise, 
though sternly opposed by many well-meaning in- 
dividuals. He was re-installed in the new church, 
and preached the re-opening sermon of the newly- 
located and modeled house of worship. This dis- 
course, though delivered many years ago, is still re- 
membered with much distinctness, as of unusual 
merit and power. This movement of the church 
proved to be wise and sagacious. It was divinely 
blessed, and made a " corner-stone " in the edifice 
of their influence and strength there. He retained 
his membership with the Lewiston Falls Church up 
to within a few years of his death, when he became 
connected with a new Freewill Baptist church or- 
ganization in his immediate neighborhood. 

He was a safe advisor, a valuable aid, a real 
father in the gospel ministry. He devotedly loved 
the church of his early membership, without being 
narrow or sectarian in his feelings toward any other 
evangelical church, and he rejoiced in every evidence 
of improvement. 

He was emphatically a self-made man. His com- 
mon school advantages were very limited, not 
amounting in all to more than three months' attend- 
ance; still his knowledge of the English branches 



BENJAMIN THOEN. 113 

was more than ordinary. Besides, he acquired a 
commendable knowledge of the Latin and Greek 
languages, knew something of the Hebrew, and mas- 
tered the French after he had passed his eightieth 
year. Naturally of a studious and philosophical 
turn of mind, he probed things to the bottom, seek- 
ing the course of events and phenomenon without 
trusting too much to the opinion of others, and was 
generally prepared to give a satisfactory reason of 
views entertained. While his hands were employed 
in daily toil, his mind was equally industrious upon 
difficult questions in both theology and philosophy. 
While others were asleep or too stupid for thought, 
his mind labored with an unwearied and most pa- 
tient devotion. So that few persons have acquired 
a larger and more useful fund of knowledge. 

Though his interest was great in moral and relig- 
ious subjects, the material prosperity of his town 
was carefully cherished, not only in his industrious, 
temperate, and prayerful methods of life, but in the 
encouragements given by the weight of his entire 
influence to all forms of mechanical and agricultu- 
ral interests. 

Being the oldest inhabitant of the town at the 
time of his death, with a longer residence than any 
other person of eighty-five years, he was permitted 
to see great changes, — a .wilderness brought into 
cultivated farms; a few log houses displaced for 
large, convenient ones ; a few families grown to a 
population of eight thousand souls ; the song of the 
cricket to the hum of thousands of spindles ; 
schools, churches, banks, mills, public buildings, 
10 



114 EMINENT PEEACHEES. 

seminary, and, at last, Bates College, honoring the 
town, and blessing it with intelligence, industry, 
wealth, and religion, — in all of which he sympa- 
thized and manifested a lively interest. 

The private Christian character of Mr. Thorn 
was formed ^after the sterling piety of his mother 
and Freewill Baptists of those days; but more es- 
pecially after the character of Jesus, whom he so 
warmly loved and admired. His integrity to Chris- 
tian principle was never questioned; his hospitality 
and kindness were large and liberal; his honesty 

. of purpose and dealings universally acknowledged ; 
his general Christian character and standing were 
proverbially genuine and of the New Testament to 
the core ; and every -where accepted without dis- 
count, especially where he was best known, among 
his own townsmen. These salient, moral qualities 
were impressed upon the early features of the town, 
and contributed not a little toward its Christian 
character, and in making Lewiston pre-eminently a 
Freewill Baptist community. 

He was one of the best and most talented min- 
isters of his time. His extreme modesty and fear 
of self-aggrandizement operated largely against pub- 
lic demonstrations of ability. He chose never to 

1 speak of himself in praise, or oifer his advice and 
professional service unasked ; hence, his position was 
somewhat retired and unknown ; and many were un- 
conscious of his superior ability, unless some special 
occasion or long acquaintance made it manifest. 
But what was wanting in self-confidence was more* 
than made up in humility and trust in Jesus. He 



BENJAMIN THOBN. 115 

ever felt that his true place was behind his breth- 
ren, " esteeming them better than himself," and the 
cross of his Master before all. His knowledge of 
the Scriptures was large and thorough, with expla- 
nations of difficult passages ever at hand. But few 
persons were ever blessed with, a stronger memory, 
or used it to better advantage on biblical subjects. 
Chapters, if not entire books in the Bible, could be 
repeated by him verbatim in his last years, and with 
surprising skill and accuracy. This retentive mem- 
ory of the Scriptures was evidently the source of 
much power. 

A public discussion was at one time held between 
him and a prominent Universalist minister of five 
days' continuance, when his opponent begged leave 
to withdraw, without ever venturing another. He 
preached some very able sermons in support of 
future endless punishment. One of special interest 
and strength was preached a few years before his 
death, which, with some other discourses, would be 
valuable for publication. 

Having a large family of ten children to support, 
and entirely dependent upon his own labors, he was 
obliged to work with his hands while he preached 
what he could. He did not receive, in all his life, 
one hundred dollars for his services in preaching. 
The early views and usages of the denomination 
were guarded with a jealous vigilance and fidelity, — 
genuine reform, education, and Christian develop- 
ment, were heartily welcomed and sustained by 
manly co-operation; while affected wisdom, innova- 
tion, and spurious improvements were utterly 



116 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

loathed and driven far away. He hailed the birth 
and location of the Maine State Seminary as a har- 
binger of good, and offered prayer at the laying of 
the corner-stone. He encouraged students in preach- 
ing, and cultivated a very pleasant acquaintance with 
them. 

A Christian education made practical, as well as 
the moral reforms, found in him an early, firm, and 
most consistent supporter. No fluctuation of others, 
or change of public opinion, ever moved him in his 
purposes of justice and liberty toward the oppressed, 
and the sternest opposition to the rum-vending and 
drinking habits of society. Firmly planted on the 
truth, no storm unsettled his faith, and, for long 
years he stood a beacon light on the mountain top 
of moral and religious principle, and many were 
won to the glorious standard with him. 

Born in the midst of the Revolutionary War, he 
imbibed its patriotism, which continued unabated to 
the last; being especially marked and vigorous in 
the national struggle over rebellion and slavery. 
His five grandsons fought long and bravely in their 
country's cause, sustained by the deepest sympathies 
and prayers of their aged veteran sire. 

Mr. Thorn labored and enjoyed revivals of relig- 
ion, both in the villages and in his own neighbor- 
hood, and never better than in his last days. His 
vigor of mind and body continued unabated, so that 
he looked and appeared more like a man of sixty- 
five than eighty-five, and some of his best discourses 
were preached only a few days before his death. 
His last sickness was short, his work was done, and 



BENJAMIN THORN. 117 

he was all ready to depart and be with Jesus. 
Peaceful and trusting he fell asleep on Sabbath eve, 
December 4, 1864, aged eighty-five years and nine 
months, calm as the setting sun of mid-summer, 
cloudless and glorious, for the new morn of an end- 
less day. He left an aged and infirm widow of 
eighty -three years, who had been in very deed a most 
devoted wife and mother for nearly sixty -five years ; 
kind and faithful children, and many grand and 
great-grandchildren, to mourn their loss, though to 
him infinite gain. 



118 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

CHAPTEK X. 

SAMUEL B U R B A N K . 

Samuel Burbank was the son of Samuel Bur- 
bank, a native of Rowley, Massachusetts, and of 
Susanna Graves Burbank, a native of Brentwood, 
New Hampshire. Samuel was born in the latter 
town, June 17, 1792. In March, 1794, the family 
moved to Newfield. His father was mostly a farm- 
er; a man much in business as town clerk, select- 
man, land-surveyor, and 'school-teacher; with a 
family of seven sons and six daughters, of whom 
Samuel was the oldest; consequently much of his 
minorage was spent in the family employment, with 
only something more than the usual advantages for 
acquiring an education. 

The mind of Samuel was very early inclined to 
search for knowledge. Books were the chosen com- 
panions of his boyhood. The leisure hours of the 
day and many long evenings were devoted to study. 
His parents have related of him that, not unfre- 
quently when young folks spent an evening in the 
family, he would devote the time to reading, and do 
little else than look up and bid them good evening 
on their leaving. Such a thirst for knowledge met 
with encouragement from his father especially, who 
afforded him his own assistance and such facilities 
for learning, as the times and a large family to sup- 
port, would allow him to do. At an early age he 
was qualified to instruct school, and engaged, in an 



SAMUEL BURBANK. 119 

employment so congenial to his turn of mind. 
When eighteen years of age, he attended South 
Berwick Academy one term, and, before he was 
twenty-one, had gone through a regular course of 
study in astronomy under the instruction of Dudley 
Leavitt, the natural mathematician of New Hamp- 
shire. 

But little is known of his early religious impres- 
sions. A mind so actively inquisitive as his, was 
doubtless often and early exercised with the subject 
of religion. Somewhere near the last-mentioned 
period, when he had finished his studies with Mr. 
Leavitt, he resumed school-teaching in Newfield. 
Here, in an early part of the season of 1814, a 
religious revival commenced, and was especially 
powerful in that part of the town where he was in- 
structing. A number of his scholars had ex- 
perienced emancipating grace; others were under 
deep convictions for sin ; the Holy Spirit was striv- 
ing upon the heart of the teacher. One day, in a 
very especial manner, God's presence and a deep 
solemnity seemed to settle down upon the whole 
school. The business of instruction and study 
ceased. Several fell upon their knees and begged 
for mercy. Some prayed ; some praised God. One 
of the scholars, a girl of twelve years, in earnest 
exhortation besought her teacher to give his heart 
to God. For some time under serious awakenings, 
he could no longer withstand, — he fell upon his 
knees and engaged in prayer for his own soul and 
for the scholars. Others prayed. The whole school 
was in a " flood of tears;" and the scene was truly 



120 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

interesting and affecting. He, however, soon ob- 
tained a witness that his sins were forgiven, and his 
pardon sealed. Their sighs were now turned into 
songs, and their prayers into praise; and, in fact, 
the school-house into a worshiping temple, and the 
school-master into a preacher. This was an event 
of July 16, 1814. The revival continued to progress 
until more than one hundred were hopefully con- 
verted to God. This remarkable work of grace was 
far-reaching in its effects. 

If Mr. Burbank had not experienced religion, 
he probably never would have been worth any thing 
but his books ; by which is meant that his thirst for 
the acquirement of knowledge would have been so 
the ruling passion of his heart as to have drawn' 
him off from all other duties. But his conversion 
was indeed an era of change. The Bible now be- 
came his greatest book of study. He felt that he 
was not to live to himself alone; an interest for the 
souls of men filled his heart ; and he faithfully im- 
proved upon his gift. He made a public profession 
of his faith, and was baptized by the Rev. John 
Buzzell on the 16th of September, just two months 
after his conversion. From that time, like the 
eunuch, he went on his way rejoicing. Im- 
mediately he conferred not with flesh and blood, but 
boldly bore his testimony for Christ. He gave 
himself more especially to the study of the Holy 
Scriptures, and soon became a very acceptable 
preacher, God testifying of his gifts. He was or- 
dained to the work of the Christian ministry, as 
pastor of the Newfield Church, on the 16th of Sep- 



SAMUEL BURBANK. 121 

tember, 1816, just two years from his baptism. He 
was then twenty-four years of age. 

From his ordination till 1825, he continued his 
pastoral relations with this church, discharging the 
duties of pastor to the acceptance and building up 
of the church, and the satisfaction of the com- 
munity. As a minister, he was not what would be 
termed a revival preacher, though he labored in 
many revivals ; but his sermons were instructive, 
always containing something new. His was a 
pastoral gift. During this period he traveled some 
abroad, and preached some in New Hampshire, Ver- 
mont, and Canada. In 1822, he married Miss 
Nancy Drew, daughter of Deacon Joseph Drew, of 
his own town. While his residence was here, he 
published for several years before the Morning Star 
commenced, the Freewill Baptist Register. The plan of 
this little annual he originated, made his own astro- 
nomical calculations, and published it on his own 
responsibility about nine years, when he relinquished 
the copyright to the Freewill Baptist General Con- 
ference. In 1825, when the company for publish- 
ing the Morning Star was ready to commence that 
paper, he, being appointed agent and junior editor, 
removed to Limerick, in which village nearly all the 
last twenty years of his journey of life were spent. 
This change forms a new era of his biography. 

At Limerick, in addition to the arduous labors as 
agent and editor of the Star, he preached constantly 
on the Sabbath ; half of the time for the first three 
or four years with the church in Limerick. For the 
period during which he was engaged for the Star — 
11 



122 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

three years as agent and seven as editor — he could 
not travel abroad extensively. He was, however, 
much on councils for organizing churches, ordaining 
ministers, etc. He also attended some five of the 
first General Conferences, in which few of the del- 
egates were more active in the religious business of 
this body. The public need nothing to lead them 
to acknowledge how unsparing and successful were 
his labors to sustain the usefulness of the Morning 
Star during its first seven years of publication. 

Since its removal to Dover, New Hampshire, he 
has written comparatively but little for the press. 
From the time that his agency and editorship of the 
Star closed till the close of his life, it must be left 
to each one's own conclusion whether his usefulness 
was any less than before. Others had been raised 
up to fill these places, and a portion of his time was 
employed somewhat differently. For the last fifteen 
years he did considerably in the way of settling 
estates, acting as guardian for orphan children, and, 
for the term of eight consecutive years, filled the 
office of County Treasurer for York County. He so 
performed these duties as to acquire very many 
friends among the business, as well as religious, 
community. After several years of residence in 
Limerick, he declined taking the pastoral care of 
the church in that village, or preaching statedly for 
it, believing that the cause would be better pro- 
moted by his laboring elsewhere, and this church 
engaging the constant pastoral charge of another 
man; yet, to the last, this church enjoyed the ben- 
efit of his counsels and support. The churches of 



SAMUEL BUKBANK. 123 

Newfield and of Brookfield considered themselves 
under his pastoral care for several years, in which 
places, as also in Wakefield and Buxton, he preached 
much, and with more or less of the divine bless- 
ing. 

During the thirty years of his ministry, he may 
not have preached so much as many of the early 
ministers have done for the same period; but, in 
the various ways in which he has been employed, 
he has been diligent. He has attended a very large 
number of funerals, for which some have judged 
him to possess a peculiarly happy faculty; has 
solemnized very many marriages ; and baptized a 
goodly number in the several places where God has 
blessed his labors. The exact number in either of 
the above cases is not known. He was called an 
excellent counselor ; and this quality was often 
called into exercise in religious matters, and not 
unfrequently in other affairs. He was quite con- 
stant in his attendance upon Yearly and Quarterly 
Meetings, over which he was frequently chosen to 
preside. In his own family his religious duties 
were constant, as one can attest from three years' 
membership in his family; and it was among his 
last wishes that the family altar should be sus- 
tained after his departure. 

During the whole period of his membership in 
the Freewill Baptist denomination, its interests and 
prosperity lay near his heart to the last. He was 
with the denomination in its struggles, its progress, 
and improvements, — feeling a lively interest in the 
causes of missions, temperance, Sabbath-schools, and 



124 EMINENT PEEACHERS. 

education. He labored much for Zion's prosperity. 
But God called him away in the midst of his use- 
fulness. His sickness was short and distressing. 
Precisely two weeks previous to his death, he was 
presiding as moderator in his Quarterly Meeting. 
He left a wife and five children, numerous friends, 
and the church of Christ behind, to mourn in their 
bereavement. He closed his earthly sojourn, Sep- 
tember 24, 1845, at his residence in Limerick, aged 
fifty-three years. 



MAETIN CHENEY. 125 

CHAPTER XI. 

MAETIN CHENEY. 

Maetin Cheney, the fourth of six children, was 
born in Dover, Massachusetts, August 29, 1792. ^ 
His father and one of his grandfathers served in 
the War of the Revolution, and, to the best of 
young Cheney's knowledge, the coat-of-arms of his 
ancestors was, " Poverty, Honesty, Piety." The 
meager privileges enjoyed for mental improvement 
were highly prized by Martin. At an early age he 
imbibed a strong love for reading, and, to satisfy 
this early intellectual appetite, nearly the whole of 
a village library was devoured. He desired very 
much the advantages of a collegiate education ; but 
this wish, owing to the limited pecuniary resources 
of his father, was never gratified. 

Recovering from a severe illness, he went to Bos- 
ton to reside. After remaining a year or two, he 
became much dissatisfied, and went to Olneyville, 
Rhode Island, where resided his oldest brother. In 
1813, he married, and, two years after, removed to 
Brooklyn, Long Island, and engaged in business in 
New York. Meeting with sad reverses of fortune, 
he returned to Rhode Island, where his wife soon 
died. 

In the meantime, although piously instructed, his 
descent to moral ruin was rapid and fearful. But 
during the winter following his second marriage, 
he was alarmed at his condition, and finally arrested 



126 EMINENT PKEACHEKS. 

in his downward career. After many severe mental 
struggles, between hope and fear, he became a pen- 
itent believer in Christ. He was baptized in June, 
1821, by Rev. Zalmon Tobey, and united with the 
Second Baptist Church in North Providence. 

He immediately took an active part in social 
meetings of worship, which, from his former course 
of life, created no little sensation. He, however, 
went forward in the discharge of duty, and, in 
November, 1823, was invited by the church . to 
preach his first sermon. He was found, upon ex- 
amination, to be anti-Calvinistic, and favorable to 
free communion. He was advised to unite with 
some other religious body entertaining similar 
views. Accordingly, he joined the Fourth Church 
in Providence, which granted him a license to 
preach. He commenced his public labors where he 
ended them, — in Olneyville, his chosen place of 
residence. After making a tour as an evangelist in 
the eastern part of Massachusetts, and becoming 
connected with the Union Conference, he was for- 
mally set apart to the work of the ministry in 
April, 1825. 

His ministry in Olneyville was eminently suc- 
cessful. A house of worship was erected and ded- 
icated, and a church organized, which, from eleven 
members, increased to four hundred. For nearly 
thirty years, with very few and brief interruptions, 
his ministerial labors were continued with this 
church with unabated ardor and zeal. During this 
period, some seven or eight hundred have belonged 
to this church, the fruits, under God, of his un- 



MARTIN CHENEY. 127 

wearied labors. Few men have held so long a 
pastorate with equal success. Though principally 
confined to one locality, he was generally and favor- 
ably known, both within and without the State. 
But, in the midst of his usefulness, he was cut 
down by the hand of death, January 4, 1852, aged 
fifty-nine. 

His u Life," written soon after his decease by his 
friend and successor, Rev. Dr. Bay, was published, 
in which is drawn a beautiful portraiture of his 
character as a minister and reformer. 

The following letter on " Free Communion," 
written at Olneyville, December 8, 1837, is a fair 
specimen of his style, in the discussion of contro- 
versial subjects: 

" I will, with pleasure, offer a few considerations, 
which have satisfied me of the propriety of admit- 
ting unbaptized persons to the Lord's Table. 

" 1. There is nothing in the New Testament 
which expressly prohibits it. Under the Jewish 
dispensation it was said, ' No uncircumcised person 
shall eat of the Passover.' This was express, and 
left no room for doubt. A similar declaration, 
under the Christian dispensation, would decide the 
question, but there is none. 

" 2. Et agrees with the spirit of the gospel of Christ. 
That spirit is ( charity, which beareth all things, 
hopeth all things, and believeth all things.' That spirit 
is embodied in the saying of Christ, ( Whatsoever ye 
would that men should do unto you, do ye even so 
to them.' It agrees much better, we think, than the 
opposite practice, with the sayings of Jesus and his 



128 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

apostles ; as, for example, ' Forbid him not.' * He 
that is not against us is on our part.' i Him that 
is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful 
disputations/ 'Why dost thou set at naught thy 
brother ; for God hath received him/ Here, we per- 
ceive, that we are commanded to receive a Christian 
as a brother, although there may be a difference of 
opinion ; and how our close-communion brethren 
can avoid the charge of setting at naught their 
brethren, and of rejecting those whom Christ has 
received, I know not. 

"4. Because it offers no violence to the best and 
holiest feelings of my heart; it allows my haud to 
follow my heart, and to meet my brother in every 
place and point in which we are agreed. 

" 5. Because, by thus doing, I avoid the difficulties 
of the opposite course. Not to mention what has 
been said, the opposite course presents serious diffi- 
culties; for, either I must require perfect agreement 
in sentiment, in order to approach the Lord's Table, 
or I must, as most of my close-communion breth- 
ren do, preach, and pray, and sing, and enter into 
all the benevolent enterprises of the day with my 
brother who differs from me, unite with him in 
sweet, solemn, holy exercises, and yet refuse to 
unite with him in an ordinance in which we both 
are agreed ; which is glaringly inconsistent. 

" If our close-communion brethren ask us, why 
we commune with unbaptized persons, we answer, 
for the same reasons that you pray, preach, sing, 
and worship with them; and it is for our brethren 
of this faith to show why they do the one, and re- 



MARTIN CHENEY. 129 

fuse the other. If they are unable to do this, their 
inconsistency is manifest. 

" 6. Because there is no evidence, that I have 
ever seen, which satisfies my mind that baptism is 
prerequisite to communion. If the advocates of 
strict communion can produce satisfactory evidence 
of this, the question is settled in their favor ; if not, • 
it is equally certain the question is settled against 
them. 

" 1. It is not pretended that there is any express 
command that we must be baptized in order to ap- 
proach the Lord's Table, or any express command 
prohibiting unbaptized persons from coming to this 
ordinance. 

" 2. There is nothing in the nature of the two 
ordinances, which makes one necessarily dependent 
on the other. If we look at the design or services 
of the two ordinances, we see nothing that neces- 
sarily connects them together. 

" 3. And as to the order of the two institutions. 
If it should be admitted that baptism stands first in 
the order of its institution, this, of itself, seems to me 
to be too slender proof to establish a necessary con- 
nection ; or that one must be attended to first or the 
other is of no effect. At the same time, let it be 
observed, that, if this argument be of any force, it 
will not be difficult to show that the Lord's Table 
was surrounded before Christian baptism was insti- 
tuted. I will only add, under this head, that if 
baptism is not a prerequisite to communion, I know 
not how, as a minister of Jesus Christ, I can obey 
his commands, and refuse to admit a believer to the 



130 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

Table of the Lord. i Teach them to observe all 
things that I have commanded you/ says Christ. 
To commemorate his death is one of those things ; 
but, when they are about to do one of those things, 
I forbid them. What authority have I for this? 
If it be answered, Your authority is, ' Baptism is 
prerequisite/ I reply, prove this and the question is 
at rest. 

"7. Because the objections which are brought 
against the practice are not solid, and may be easily 
removed. 

" These are : 1. That it leads to the neglect of 
baptism. 2. That it allows unworthy persons to 
come to the Lord's Table. 3. That it is inconsist- 
ent with our practice of refusing unbaptized per- 
sons membership in our churches. To the first, we 
answer, that experience tells us that admission to 
one of the ordinances has never led to the neglect 
of the other ; and, it would be passing strange if 
it should. A person is admitted to the Table of 
the Lord. Why does he come ? Because the Savior, 
whom he loves, has commanded it. Will obedience 
to one command of the Savior, whom he loves, be 
likely to lead him to neglect another command of 
the Savior ? Surely not. 

" To the second, we reply : That the admission 
of unbaptized persons of good Christian character, 
lays us under no obligation to admit unworthy per- 
sons. It should be borne in mind that the church, 
by communing with unbaptized persons, does not 
surrender a particle of her authority to exclude un- 
worthy members; besides, the objector should re- 



MARTIN CHENEY. 131 

member that baptism is not a sure and certain bar- 
rier against the admission of unworthy communi- 
cants. 

"To the third and most plausible objection, 
namely, the charge of inconsistency, we reply, that 
when our rule of action, by which we are governed 
in admitting members into the church, and persons 
to the Lord's Table, is understood, the supposed in- 
consistency will vanish. 

"What is the rule as to the Lord's Table? It 
is-: 1. Satisfactory evidence of Christian character. 
2. v Agreement as to the authority and perpetuity of 
this Christian ordinance, and the time and mode of 
its observance. Without being a Christian, no one 
can properly observe a Christian ordinance, and, 
without an agreement in the mode of its adminis- 
tration, no union can take place. All professed 
union without agreement is hypocrisy. What is the 
rule as to the admission of members into the 
church ? 1. Satisfactory evidence of Christian char- 
acter. 2. Agreement in the mode of building the 
church. You see that the Episcopalian and Con- 
gregationalist can not unite in building the church, 
although they may be Christians without surrender- 
ing their views of church government ; but they can 
come to the Table of the Lord together. And why ? 
Because in this they are agreed. Now, we ask our 
opponents, where is our inconsistency? 

" We pray with our unbaptized brethren, — but 
why? 1. Because they are Christians. 2. Because 
we are agreed that prayer is a Christian duty. We 
sing and worship with them for the same reasons, 



132 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

and we would unite with them at the Lord's Table 
for precisely the same reasons. We pray, and sing, 
and preach with them, for precisely the same rea- 
sons that we commune with them. We admit them 
to the Lord's Table because, being Christians, we 
are agreed in the thing to be done, and how to do 
it. We refuse them admission into the church, 
being Christians, because we are not agreed in the 
thing to be done, and how to do it. Where, then, 
is our inconsistency ? Not with us, but with our 
opponents, who pray, and sing, and worship with 
unbaptized persons, and then refuse to commune 
with them, without assigning any reason, which will 
not be equally conclusive against their uniting with 
them in any acts of religious worship. The views 
which I have endeavored, for the first time, to com- 
mit to paper, command the assent of my judgment, 
and the best feelings of my heart. That you may 
have health, and wisdom, and heart, to advocate 
them, and every other truth, may God grant." 



SAMUEL E. DYER. 133 

CHAPTER XII. 

SAMUEL B. DYER. 

Samuel B. Dyer was born at New Market, New 
Hampshire, on the 21st of March, 1779. When 
about three years of age his parents removed to 
Pittsfield, where he spent his youthful days. His 
advantages for an education were exceedingly lim- 
ited. From a child he was trained to hard, man- 
ual labor, which so invigorated his system that he 
possessed one of the best physical constitutions. 

At the age of sixteen he gave himself to God, 
under the preaching of Eev. Aaron Buzzell, whose 
faithful labors in the gospel were crowned with 
abundant success in Pittsfield and Gilmanton. It 
was a maxim of his from childhood, " first to know 
duty, and then to do it." Hence, he counted the 
cost and dug deep, that he might build on a sure 
foundation; and he carefully investigated all im- 
portant points of duty before engaging in them. In 
September, 1798, he .was baptized by Benjamin 
Randall, and united with the Freewill Baptist 
Church. Having performed this duty, which he 
then believed he had too long neglected, he was 
very happy, and greatly strengthened in his Chris» 
tian course, especially in the improvement of his 
gift in prayer and exhortation. 

Being cotemporary with Rev. David Knowlton, 
senior, and his two sons, David and Ebenezer, with 
many other Christian friends in Pittsfield, his situa^ 



134 EMINENT PEEACHEES. 

tion became delightful, compared with what it once 
was, when unreconciled to God. In this situation, 
he won the esteem of very many for his genuine 
piety and sterling character. 

On the 5th of May, 1801, he was married to Mrs. 
Abigail Fogg, and, about one year after, they settled 
in Nottingham, where Mr. Dyer sat up his trade as 
a clothier. He was poor in this world's possessions ; 
had the care of a rising family, and the support of 
his aged parents. He usually labored in his mill 
from twelve to fifteen hours a day, and not un- 
frequently whole nights, to meet his engagements. 
But all of this his vigorous body and mind would 
have well sustained, had it not been for a thrilling 
impulse that daily filled his heart, "The souls of 
men, — the souls of men are perishing ! Go thou 
quickly, and minister unto them the Word of Life." 
He was not disobedient to the Holy Spirit's call, 
but ready to say, " Here, Lord, am I, send me." 
There was but a small number of professed Chris- 
tians in Nottingham when he commenced preaching 
in that place, but the company of the faithful soon 
increased. Souls were converted, and many added 
to the Lord in that town, and in several other 
places where the faithful mechanic went to preach 
the gospel. 

On the 7th of March, 1804, he was ordained at 
Nottingham, and subsequently took the pastoral 
charge of the Freewill Baptist Church in that 
town. It was soon apparent to his friends that he 
was one of that class of men, designated by Sol- 
omon, whose gift should make room for him, and 



SAMUEL B. DYER. 135 

bring him before great men. During his ministry 
in Nottingham he was blessed with several revivals ; 
also, in Barrington, and in what is now Strafford, 
as well as in other places. 

Mr. Dyer soon became extensively known to the 
public, and highly esteemed as an able minister of 
the New Testament. His calls to attend marriages, 
funerals, baptisms, etc., became so frequent and 
pressing, that he had to relinquish his clothing 
business, and purchase a farm as a home for him- 
self and family. As he sustained himself, prin- 
cipally by his own labor, — though highly esteemed 
by the people of his town, who elected him three 
times to the State Legislature, — he believed it to be 
his duty to leave that place for a more enlarged 
field of gospel labor, and where he could devote 
more of his time to his ministerial profession. Ac- 
cordingly, in the spring of 1822, he removed to 
Loudon, pursuant to a call from the Freewill Bap- 
tist Society in that place, where he purchased a 
good farm and was well supported. Under God, he 
soon gathered a large church, that prospered well 
for the most of the time while he was their pastor. 

Notwithstanding all his prosperity, temporally 
and spiritually, in Loudon, a sore trial awaited him ; 
for, on the 9th of August, 1825, the wife of his 
youth, and the mother of twelve children, — eleven 
of whom were then living, — was taken from him 
by death. This deplorable loss stirred within him 
all the fervor of his noble soul ; but he bore it with 
manly fortitude, believing that the loss of one of 
the most pious, amiable, and industrious women, 



136 EMINENT PEEACHERS. 

that ever blessed a minister of the gospel, was her 
eternal gain. 

During Mrs. Dyer's last illness, she expressed an 
earnest wish that her husband might marry again, 
so that her family of children might have some one 
to take charge of them, who would be interested in 
their welfare. In compliance with her wish, on the 
21st of February, 1826, he married Mrs. Jemima 
Clough, in whom he and the children found all that 
economy and benevolence of feeling toward them, 
could be expected from one of her good Christian 
character. 

On the 18th of November, 1837, the second wife 
died. His children being nearly all grown up to 
manhood, he resolved on selling his farm, spacious 
buildings, stock, etc., to help educate some of his 
children, and to assist others who were residing in 
the State of Ohio. The free suffrages of the town 
of Loudon had elected him some three or four years 
to the General Court; and twice he was chosen 
Senator in that district, but only served one term. 
As he was resolved on visiting his children in Ohio, 
he declined serving the second term after he was 
legally elected. 

After his return from Ohio, he was quite discon- 
solate, but persevered in the glorious work of 
preaching the gospel, and his labors were abundantly 
blessed. On the 12th of December, 1838, he was 
married to Mrs. Betsey Morrill, of Gilmanton, a 
lady possessing respectable accomplishments, and a 
good estate. In June, 1839, he removed from 
Loudon to Deerfield, where God blessed his gospel 



SAMUEL B. DYER. 137 

labors in the most signal manner. Hundreds were 
converted, many of whom were among the most re- 
spectable inhabitants of the town. He baptized 
between one and two hundred in that revival. The 
old meeting-house being consumed by fire, the 
church and society erected a new and spacious 
house, where Mr. Dyer preached regularly until 
1844. He then resigned his pastoral charge of the 
church, but not his membership. In 1845, he was 
chosen one of the Representatives of the town to 
the General Court. 

During the time of his being an ordained 
preacher, which was more than forty-two years, he 
baptized many hundreds, the exact number we have 
no means of knowing. He solemnized between 
seven hundred and one thousand marriages, and 
preached nearly two thousand funeral sermons. He 
took a deep interest in the Deerfield and Notting- 
ham Quarterly Meeting. He attended for the last 
time with them on the 5th and 6th of September, 
1846, prayed at the ordination of two young min- 
isters, and his soul was so led out, while tears rolled 
over his manly face, that many remarked that his 
effort in prayer exceeded any thing that they had 
ever heard at an ordination. Others remarked to 
their friends on arriving home, that they would 
never hear Mr. Dyer pray again ; that his work was 
about done, and that he would soon go from labors 
to rewards. 

The disease that terminated his useful life was 
typhus fever, which ended in quick consumption. 
He was attacked with that fatal fever just one 
12 



138 EMINENT PEEACHEES. 

month after his memorable prayer at Nottingham. 
His sufferings were severe, and his convictions were 
that his Heavenly Father was about to call him 
home. In view of this, he settled all his business 
relative of his earthly estate, and subsequently gave 
^ orders concerning his funeral, named the minister 
whom he wished might preach his funeral sermon, 
and the place where he wished to be buried, etc. 
He retained his reason to the last moment of 
life, and, during his whole sickness, was calm as a 
summer's morning, often expressing a fervent de- 
sire to depart and be with Christ. On the Sabbath 
before his decease, while several of the church and 
others were present, he gave them his last exhorta- 
tion, with that usual feeling and pathos that char- 
acterized all his religious exercises. 

Just before his immortal spirit took its flight to 
the spirit land, one of his daughters said to him, 
" How does it appear to you now, father ; can you 
say all is well ?" He Jooked on her, and then on 
his hands, and said : " Is this death ? Yes, this is 
death, and blessed be death ; sweet is death I" These 
were about his last words. Kev. Daniel P. Cilley 
called in a few moments to see him ; but that voice 
that had animated thousands had lost its power, yet 
he knew Mr. Cilley, and pressed his hand with 
looks full of expression and heavenly meaning. In 
a few minutes after this he quietly breathed his last, 
and his happy spirit returned to Him who gave it. 
Thus died this venerable servant of God on Thurs- 
day afternoon, November 19, 1846, aged sixty-seven 
years and eight months, lacking two days, having 



SAMUEL B. DYER. 139 

been confined to his house six weeks and three days. 
The funeral services were performed on Saturday, 
21st, in the forenoon, at the meeting-house, in the 
presence of a large and mourning congregation, and 
eight ordained ministers. The sermon was preached 
by Rev. Enoch Place. The procession then went 
eighteen miles to Loudon, to lay his remains by the 
side of those of his two wives. 

To delineate the character of such a man as Rev. 
Samuel B. Dyer is no small work. As a husband 
and father, he was provident and kind ; as a Chris- 
tian, unusually solemn and devoted; as a minister 
of the gospel, persevering and prudent. His talents 
were of a high order, and, had he been well edu- 
cated, he might have shown as one of the brightest 
stars of the church. He was naturally eloquent ; 
his voice was strong, clear, and smooth. He pos- 
sessed a strong mechanical genius, — prayed, preached, 
and did every thing by system. He rarely, if ever, 
preached a sermon without weeping, and, in this re- 
spect, imitated Jesus and St. Paul. His gift to pray 
and preach at a funeral exceeded thqse of ministers 
in general. As a statesman, he was indefatigable. 
If he had any faults, one was, being too tenacious 
of his own opinion. He stood a little less than six 
feet ; had a fine, commanding form, and open coun- 
tenance, with full, black, expressive eyes, and black 
hair, and was a fair young-looking man for one of 
his years, with a gait remarkably erect and firm. 



140 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

CHAPTEE XIII. 

SAMUEL HATHORN. 

Samuel, son of James and Mary Hathorn, was 
born in Bowdoinham, Maine, September 14, 1794. 
His mother's name before marriage was Mary 
Thwing. The family consisted of one brother and 
three sisters older than himself, and one brother and 
two sisters younger. 

The facilities for acquiring an education being 
very limited at that time, and his natural tempera- 
ment in his younger days, being more inclined to 
active physical labor than to study, he acquired but 
a comparatively limited education, a circumstance 
which he very much regretted in after life, and for 
which he earnestly labored to atone in his studious 
habits, and his assidious and energetic application 
to his calling in the gospel field. He was converted 
in a revival under the labors of a man named Asa 
Foster, in the year 1817 ; but it is not certain that 
he ever united with any church until the organiza- 
tion of the First Freewill Baptist Church in Bow- 
doinham, in 1825, when he became one of its mem- 
bers at the time of the organization. His conversion 
was such as to indicate a thorough change in his 
heart. It was evident that the indomitable energy 
and perseverance, which had ever been prominent 
characteristics of his whole life, were entirely con- 
secrated to God and enlisted into his service. His 



SAMUEL HATHORN. 141 

conversion was clear, his faith strong, and he loved 
to "tell what the Lord had done for his soul." 

In the autumn of 1819, in connection with two 
other young men, he purchased land, and they set 
about clearing it up for cultivation ; but, while 
laboring at his employment, he was the means of 
stirring up the children of God, holding meetings 
occasionally in various neighborhoods, not as a 
preacher, however, but as a living, working Chris- 
tian, of which, alas ! there are too few. In Jan- 
uary, 1821, one of them left his associates for the 
work of the gospel ministry, feeling that the word 
to him was, " Go." When he informed Samuel of 
the feelings that led him to forsake him in their 
worldly pursuit, Samuel replied : " Go, and I will 
do the best I can." But soon the word to Samuel 
was, *' Sell that thou hast, and come and follow 
me." After about two and a half or three years' 
labor on the land they purchased, it was sold at a 
sacrifice, and Samuel was clear of his embarrass- 
ment, and ready to enter the gospel field with his 
companion. 

His gospel ministry, however, can not be said to 
have been marked with very striking results until 
the summer of 1825. Yet it was evident that God 
was with him, and many had been quickened, and 
some converted, through his instrumentality. But 
his first field of labor, as he always termed it, was 
pointed out to him by the providence of God, in 
what is now the locality of the Second Freewill 
Baptist Church in Bowdoinham, then called the 
" Hock River " neighborhood. Here he commenced 



142 EMINENT PEEACHEHS. 

his labors in September, 1825, and the Lord blessed 
him with a glorious work of grace, from which 
grew the first church of Freewill Baptists in that 
town. And here he continued to labor at various 
intervals, with good success, almost to the end of 
his life. He was licensed by the Bowdoinham 
Quarterly Meeting in October of that year, and or- 
dained by a council sent by the same Quarterly 
Meeting, on the 12th day of January following. 
The council consisted of Revs. George Lamb, Abi- 
ezer Bridges, and Joseph Robinson. 

From the time of his ordination he continued his 
ministerial labors within the limits of the Bowdoin 
Quarterly Meeting mostly, for five or six years, 
after which he extended them to different portions 
of the State, often returning to the place of his first 
labors, bringing heart-cheering intelligence of the 
success of God's work in the various sections of the 
gospel field through which he traveled, and always 
coming in the " fullness of the blessing of the gos- 
pel." In 1832, he was married to Miss Elizabeth 
Newell, of bowdoinham, formerly of Massachusetts, 
who proved a helpmate indeed in his calling. 

Having been drawn in his feelings to the West- 
ern States, as an important field of gospel labor, he 
left in the fall of 1836 for the State of Indiana, 
continuing to labor in that section through the 
winter and following spring, and returning in the 
summer of 1837. In 1838, he again left for In- 
diana, accompanied by his companion, and, choosing 
as their field of labor and place of residence, the 
town of Milan, in the county of Ripley. In the 



SAMUEL HATHOKN. 143 

winter and spTing of 1840, he visited the churches 
of the Meigs Quarterly Meeting, in Southern Ohio, 
where revivals followed his labors in Rutland and 
Wilkesville. After spending some three years in 
Ohio and Indiana, he returned to the place of his 
early years. From 1836 to 1844, we find him four 
times in the Western States, making some five years 
or more spent in that region. 

April 7, 1847, he writes: "God is answering the 
prayers of his children, and rewarding the labors 
of his servants in Eipley and Jennings Counties, 
Indiana, in pouring out his spirit, reviving his 
saints, converting sinners, and adding to the ranks 
of the anti-slavery cause. I received an invitation 
to go to Graham Forks, in the vicinity of the town 
of Marion, and hold a protracted meeting. I sent an 
appointment accordingly about the last of February ; 
but when I arrived, I found it was the time of the 
Calvinistic Baptists for monthly meeting ; that there 
had been a division in the church on the subject of 
slavery, and that an anti-slavery church had been 
formed. I therefore adjourned my meeting to the 
close of the Baptist meeting on the Sabbath. I 
then arose in the congregation, and stated that I was 
a stranger and a Freewill Baptist minister ; that I 
had come fifteen hundred miles to preach the un- 
searchable riches of Christ; that, by divine permis- 
sion, I would preach the gospel at three o'clock 
that afternoon ; that it had been proposed to me to 
hold my meeting at the school-house, but the friends 
could decide that question. 

"A gentleman arose and observed that the meet- 



144 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

ing-house was already warmed and the most con- 
venient. Another stated that the Trustees had the 
control of the house, and they were not present. 
Another said that the stranger proposed to preach 
the gospel, and it was a hard case if the gospel 
could not be preached in the meeting-house. 'We 
have decided that this, that, and the other, should 
not be preached in it, but not that the gospel 
should not.' A vote was then taken and carried 
that I should occupy the meeting-house. I con- 
tinued the meeting at the house till Monday night, 
when the reformation had commenced. 

" I was charged with preaching abolition doc- 
trine, for I had quoted Paul to the Hebrews, ' Re- 
member them that are in bonds as bound with 
them ; and them which suffer adversity as being 
yourselves also in the body/ Also Isaiah, 'Is not 
this the fast that I have chosen, to loose the bands 
of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to' 
let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every 
yoke?' We then moved the meeting to the school- 
house, where we have seen the glory of God and his 
power in the conversion of sinners and the reclaim- 
ing of backsliders. I have labored here eight days 
with great satisfaction and encouragement. Last 
Sabbath I baptized and added eleven to the anti- 
slavery church, which has adopted a Freewill Bap- 
tist Constitution, and made request for Freewill 
Baptist preaching. There is a good revival spirit 
in this church ; and others will unite with it as 
soon as they have an opportunity to be baptized. 
There is another church, about four miles from this, 



SAMUEL HATHORN. 145 

constituted on the same principles, and under sim- 
ilar circumstances." 

In all his travels, whether East or West, to 
preach Christ was his beloved employment, although 
he was not slothful in temporal business as it be- 
came needful. In the summer of 1852, consump- 
tion deprived him of his worthy and pious com- 
panion. But his loss was her gain. She died in 
full assurance of a glorious immortality. 

In July, 1853, he was married to Miss Cordelia 
Clough, of Litchfield. He and his companion spent 
the following winter and spring — 1854 — in the 
Western States, and, on their return to Maine in the 
summer of that year, he purchased a small but very 
convenient and productive farm in West Gardiner, 
on which he resided with his companion in a most 
happy manner, until removed by death. After a 
life of incessant toil in the gospel field, he seemed 
to enjoy the quiet rest of his own happy earthly 
home. 

Although provided with a comfortable earthly 
home, he rested not from the work of the ministry, 
so far as his failing constitution would permit. He 
continued in the field till nature gave way to the 
inroads of disease. He sought for medical assist- 
ance, but all proved ineffectual, and he, at first re- 
luctantly, but subsequently cheerfully, resigned his 
earthly labors, and prepared for his heavenward 
journey, with the full assurance of entering that 
eternal rest that remains to the faithful. 

He preached his last sermon on the 30th of May, 
1858, on Bowdoinham Ridge, from Hosea vi, 3, In 
13 



146 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

the course of his remarks, he made the following 
allusion to himself: "I have believed for many 
years that the Lord would be with me in the time 
of affliction and suffering; but I did not expect that 
uninterrupted happiness, that continued heavenly 
peace and joy which I now feel. All is light be- 
fore me." 

The following week he visited the place of his 
first gospel labors, taking leave of his friends and 
children in the gospel, in a most calm and affec- 
tionate manner. At this time he made known the 
arrangements which he had made for his funeral, 
and all his business affairs, remarking : " I always 
thought God would give me the victory when called 
to die ; but I did not expect it would come so easy. 
I expected to have a great struggle for it ; but how 
gloriously I am disappointed ! It has come to me 
without any apparent effort." A few days after this 
he attended a session of he Bowdoin Quarterly 
Meeting, at West Gardiner Center, and gave an ex- 
hortation full of the Holy Ghost and wise counsel. 

Thus he closed up his active and successful life 
in the ministry, and retired to his own quiet and 
comfortable home to await his appointed time, till 
his change should come. As his physical strength 
failed, and his frail tenement bent downward to the 
grave, his inner man was renewed, day by day, and 
revealed to him the portals of eternal glory. He 
noticed every symptom of approaching death with 
manifestations of the greatest joy. In the morning 
before he died, he desired his companion to find a 
favorite hymn, and he wanted it sung when he was 



SAMUEL HATHORN. 147 

going over Jordan. Although he had been able to 
speak only in a whisper for ten days, about the 
middle of the afternoon of that day, he requested 
that all should be called into his room, saying that 
he had a song to be sung. When all were seated, 
he commenced and sang one verse. When he had 
finished singing, he said he was ready to hear those 
other verses sung. While they were being sung, he 
was very much animated, and appeared very happy ; 
but nature soon yielded to the slumbers of death, 
and his spirit took its upward flight, December 13, 
1858. His age was sixty-four. Thus was fulfilled 
the word of inspiration, " Mark the perfect man, 
and behold the upright ; for the end of that man is 
peace. " 

Agreeably to his own request, funeral services 
were performed by Rev. John Raymond, assisted 
by several others, at West Gardiner, on Thursday 
following his death, when his remains were con- 
veyed to the third church in Bowdoinham, of which 
he was a member, attended by his widow and other 
friends, and services were performed on the follow- 
ing day by Rev. C. Quinnam, pastor of that church, 
assisted by several others in the ministry, after 
which his sleeping dust was consigned to its quiet 
resting-place, to await the glorious morning of the 
resurrection. 

As before stated, he was possessed of a remark- 
ably energetic temperament. Every moment, and 
every talent he faithfully improved. With him 
there was no idling, no dozing away the swiftly- 
passing moments of life in useless speculations, — no 



148 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

rusting out. He loved labor, and the labors of the 
gospel furnished him with a favorite employment. 
He kept an account of the number to whom he ad- 
ministered the ordinance of baptism, from which we 
learn that it was thirteen hundred and fifty. 

He was instrumental in gathering many churches, 
and in the conversion of many souls. A very large 
portion of his ministerial labors was spent in refor- 
mations, for which his gift was more particularly 
adapted. In truth, he was a successful minister of 
Jesus Christ, and may his worthy examples and 
gospel labors confer their legitimate influences upon 
many others in the gospel ministry, that their lives 
and labors may be as useful, their end as peaceful, 
and their rest as glorious. 



DAVID DUDLEY. 149 

CHAPTER XIV. 

DAVID DUDLEY. 

David Dudley was born in Mount Vernon, 
Kennebec County, Maine, July 16, 1791. He was 
deeply impressed with a sense of his sins when but 
seven years of age. His conviction returned with 
much strength when nine years old. But he felt 
that "no man cared for his soul," which is often 
too true of children. At thirteen years of age, in 
a powerful revival in his native town, he ex- 
perienced relief from his sense of condemnation, 
and enjoyed peace of mind. He felt it an im- 
mediate duty to confess Christ before men. He was 
unwilling, however, to do this, and so fell into 
darkness and condemnation, which continued several 
years. In another revival he discharged this duty, 
and, as he writes in his brief record, he then ex- 
perienced "joy unspeakable and full of glory." At 
this time, when nearly sixteen, he was baptized by 
Rev. Moses H. Rollin, but did not unite with any 
church. 

He soon after received his first impressions that 
it would be his duty to preach the gospel. He was 
unwilling to obey the heavenly call, which resulted 
in years of darkness and sorrow. At twenty his 
father died. It was to him a renewed call to 
* preach Christ. Still he refused. A year later he 
bought land and pursued a worldly life, though he 
formally united about this time with the Freewill 



150 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

Baptist Church in Corrina, Sommerset County, 
Maine. 

His efforts to lay up earthly treasures were fail- 
ures. Sickness overtook him, and, when apparently 
at the borders of the grave, he promised his Savior 
he would devote his life, if spared, as an embas- 
sador of Christ. In 1815, when twenty-four years 
of age, he forsook lands, and friends, and home, 
and journeyed to Southern Ohio, his object being 
" solely to work for God." He commenced preach- 
ing in Eutlaud. Revivals followed his labors. 
Many were converted. He was ordained in Rut- 
land, in 1817. The following year he was married 
to Mrs. Boynton, formerly of New Hampshire. He 
labored about seven years with marked success in 
several counties bordering on the Ohio River, man- 
ifesting an uncommon devotion to the work. 

In 1822, he removed to Marion County. During 
that year he organized the Freewill Baptist Church 
of Big Island, the first church of the denomination 
in this part of the State. It has outlived the trials 
and vicissitudes of many years, and its light still 
shines. Revivals followed in several townships of 
the county. He soon organized churches in Marion, 
Pleasant, and Norton, where, in 1824, he organized 
the Marion Quarterly Meeting. 

He was pastor of the Big Island Church for thir- 
teen years, during which time he also labored much 
in other places, and organized churches in Delaware, 
Richland, Licking, Clark, and Union Counties, — 
the results of glorious revivals attending his labors. 
During these years he baptized hundreds of happy 



DAVID DUDLEY. 151 

converts. In 1837, he removed to East Liberty, 
Logan County, where he resided thirteen years, and 
organized the churches composing the Harmony 
Quarterly Meeting. In 1843, the Marion Yearly 
Meeting was organized, consisting, as found in the 
first report, of four quarterly meetings, fifteen 
churches, containing six hundred and ten members. 
Mr. Dudley has always been considered the " father " 
of this Yearly Meeting. 

In 1850, he went with his family to Iowa, where 
he lived two years, and buried his wife. After this 
sad affliction he returned to Ohio, and lived for a 
time in Maineville, in the bounds of the Ohio 
Yearly Meeting, and was pastor of the Maineville 
Church. He subsequently returned to Marion 
County, and, in 1861, was married to Mrs. Lovina 
Wyatt, widow of Rev. Samuel Wyatt, who died 
some years before, who was converted under the 
ministry of Mr. Dudley, and was pastor of the 
Norton Church while he lived. 

Since his last marriage he had the pastoral care 
of churches but little, though he preached more or 
less till within a few months of his death. His last 
years were quiet and free from anxiety and care, 
spent among kind friends and beloved brethren. 
During ttye last winter of his life, his health and 
strength gradually failed with the weight of years 
and the labors of more than half a century spent in 
the Christian ministry. As the time of his de- 
parture drew near, he said he knew that heaven and 
its rest would be blessed and glorious; yet, if it 
could be the Lord's will, he " would rejoice to live 



152 EMINENT PEEACHEES. 

longer and blow the trumpet of the gospel." And 
so in peace, and a burning love in his soul for sin- 
ners, he departed for the " better country," May 29, 
1867, aged nearly seventy-six years. 

As a minister, he was abundant in labors, having 

* preached in many revivals, baptized hundreds of 
converts, traveled thousands of miles in his itin- 
erant work, through a new country ; was the pastor 
of thirteen churches, several at the same time, mak- 
ing the aggregate of pastoral years seventy-five and 
a half. 

He was eminently successful both in his revival 
and pastoral work. He was a bold, zealous advo- 
cate of all the benevolent enterprises. In review of 
his life and dying hour, he said he had " never 
compromised the truth." He was one of the best 
and truest of the " fathers," and yet he kept pace 
with the progress of the age in which he lived. 
He thanked God for sparing him to see the rebellion 
end, with no slavery in the land ; that the nation 
was still one; that the effort to educate and save 
the freedmen was crowned with present and pros- 
pective success. He rejoiced in the work and suc- 
cess of schools, colleges, and in the theological 
training of the young men entering the ministry. 

* He was mild and affectionate. Hia naturally 
amiable disposition would have made his family and 
others happy, even if he had not been a Christian. 
The law of kindness dwelt upon his tongue ; his 
heart was a fountain of good will to man, and he 
sought the welfare of those around him. If he had 
not the stern virtues of a reformer, he possessed the 



DAVID DUDLEY. 153 

qualities which would leave but little for reformers 
to do, were all like him in kindness and forbear- 
ance. Blest with such a husband and father, his 
family enjoyed a large share of domestic happiness, 
which was, to a considerable extent, shared by their 
relatives and acquaintances. 

He loved the church and people of God. Though i 
his business sometimes led him into the company 
of those who are respected and honored for their 
wealth, office, or talents, he had much regard for 
"the brotherhood," and always rejoiced in their 
society. His doors were always open for their re- 
ception, and his affability made them feel that they 
were welcome guests. It gave him much pleasure 
to provide freely for their entertainment. As his 
family possessed a similar disposition, many were 
courteously entertained at his house, especially in 
seasons of revival, and at sessions of Quarterly and 
Yearly Meetings. 

He was liberal in his feelings toward Christians 
of other sects. Though so much attached to the 
denomination with which he first united, that 
nothing could induce him to leave them, he ever 
prized the society and rejoiced in the prosperity of 
such as loved God in other churches. He stood far 
above that narrow and bigoted spirit which fellow- 
ships none out of its own creed ; or which, if it 
owns some of them as Christians, treats them as 
unworthy of its society, and coolly says: "Stand by 
thyself, come not near to me ; for I am holier than 
thou." His attachment to his own sect did not 
make him cold, uncharitable, or envious toward 



154 



EMINENT PREACHERS. 



others. He loved all that loved the Savior, and, as 
far as practicable, sought their society, attended 
their meetings, and united with them in promoting 
the interests of Zion. Hence, he was much beloved 
by those of all sects, who, with their Savior, desire 
that his followers may be one, even as he and the 
Father are one. With such a spirit Christians 
would be united, were the number of sects greatly 
increased, while without it, they would be at variance 
were there but one church in the world. 

Mr. Dudley rejoiced especially in religious reviv- 
als. At such times of refreshings from the presence 
of the Lord, his soul was full of holy ardor, and his 
labors were performed with fervor, zeal, and delight. 
Greatly loving the church of God, he grieved to see 
it desolate, and rejoiced whenever he saw its pros- 
perity. 

His sermons were mild, conciliatory, and consol- 
ing, — hortatory and doctrinal. His prayers and ex- 
hortations were edifying, warm, and spiritual. His 
property and talents were cheerfully and gratuitously 
devoted to the good of the church and the cause of 
God. His counsels were wise and good, and he 
would not suffer himself to become a partisan in 
matters of difference among Christians. To his 
liberal, faithful, and disinterested efforts, the churches 
in Ohio owed a large share of their prosperity dur- 
ing the time he was connected with them. He also 
took a deep interest in the Quarterly Meetings, the 
interests of which were much promoted by his excel- 
lent counsels, conciliatory spirit, and prudent efforts. 

He was meek, modest, and unassuming. He did 



DAVID DUDLEY. 155 

not seek to "be the greatest" among his brethren, 
nor was he grieved or offended when others were 
more honored than himself. He cheerfully labored 
in any place assigned to him, and envied not those 
who occupied higher stations. When his plans, 
views, or measures, were not adopted, or were op- 
posed, he gently yielded to his brethren, and seemed 
to have the same affection and regard for them that 
he would have held had their views, sympathies, and 
acts corresponded with his own. The disappoint- 
ment, mortification, and unkind feelings that corrode 
the hearts and mar the peace of the ambitious, sel- 
fish, and unyielding, when they are not promoted, or 
can not have their way, had no place in his benev- 
olent heart. Hence, he honored himself and his 
profession by going as far as he could with his 
brethren in promoting their measures, though they 
might not go with him in promoting his. If he 
could not go with them, he neither became a sep- 
aratist, nor sought to injure their influence, merely 
because he could not have things to his own mind 
in matters that he deemed too unimportant to lead 
to ill will and disunion. He was a lover of peace. 
Divisions and contentions of all kinds, especially 
among Christians, were a grief to him, and he 
always did what he could to heal them. 

He always spoke words of good counsel and en- 
couragement to ministers younger than himself, 
and was glad to witness their success. They loved 
him. All of his brethren in the ministry, as well 
as relatives, could not otherwise than truly mourn 
that the hour of his departure had come. He had 



156 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

no earthly treasures, but was rich in faith, and has, 
doubtless, gone to enjoy a rich treasure in heaven. 
Three daughters survived him, all of whom are mar- 
ried to ministers of the gospel. His widow mourned 
the loss of two good husbands, who were useful min- 
isters of Christ. 



RICHARD M. CARY. 157 

CHAPTER XV. 

RICHARD M. CARY. 

Richard M. Cary was born in Williamsburg, 
Vermont, December 10, 1794 ; but early removed to 
Whately, where he remained with his father's family 
until he was seven years of age, when they removed 
to Cazenovia, New York. When three years old, 
an incident occurred, which made so deep an impres- 
sion upon his mind, that he ever afterward retained 
a lively recollection of the occurrence. He fell into 
a pond, where he remained until all consciousness 
was gone, and, but for the timely aid of friends, 
must have perished. When taken from the water, 
his parents and friends supposed him dead. 

In the year 1806, his father's family removed to 
Western New York, and settled in Boston, Erie 
County, then known as the Holland Purchase. At 
that time Buffalo was but a small village, afforded 
only one hotel for the accommodation of travelers, 
and that was a small log house, in which the Cary 
family spent the night while on their journey. The 
first residence of the Carys, in Boston, was a house 
made of logs and poles, and was buried amidst the 
wilderness so completely that there was not a house 
or neighbor south or west of them within forty 
miles. The entire country was an unbroken wilder- 
ness. Wild beasts and savages were its inhabitants, 
and it required more of energy, enterprise, and per- 



158 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

severance than most men possessed to push their 
way there, and make a home in the forest. 

During Richard's early years this new settlement 
afforded few social, intellectual, or religious ad- 
vantages. His opportunities for education were 
exceedingly limited ; but, by untiring effort, he ac- 
quired the rudiments of a common English educa- 
tion. His father, like the early pilgrims, was a man 
of unfaltering faith, of humble piety, unswerving 
integrity, and, like them, did not rest satisfied with 
simply contributing to the material prosperity of 
the country, but sought to lay the foundation of its 
future greatness in something more permanent than 
any thing which can be found in material good. 

Mr. Gary, therefore, owed much of his subsequent 
usefulness and just sense of moral obligation to his 
early training. In the year 1810, he was deeply 
affected by the death of an aunt, his father's sister, 
Mrs. Lucy Streeter. He was then sixteen years of 
age, and his aunt, by her kindness, had endeared 
herself to him. There being no minister at the 
funeral, and none to be obtained, his father, though 
a brother to the deceased, acted the part of the 
chaplain, and made prayer and supplication. After 
the death of his aunt his mind became much 
awakened, and he resolved anew to seek the Lord. 
But the world was alluring; he said there will be 
time enough by and by; but, in after years, he re- 
gretted the misspent opportunity. 

At the commencement of the war of 1812, he was 
in a situation to witness the smoke of battle and the 
firing of artillery, and it created impressions of 



RICHARD M. CARY. 159 

great solemnity and awe. He reflected with serious- 
ness upon the state of the finally impenitent, and 
more than ever felt the need of a Savior. Decem- 
ber 13, 1813, Buffalo was burned. Throughout all 
that newly-settled country this event spread terror 
and alarm. Not a family in all the region but were 
liable, at any moment, to be killed by the ferocious 
savages, or murdered and thrown a prey to wild 
beasts by their cruel enemies. Such perilous times 
caused all classes to be thoughtful and sober. 

A very dear brother of Cary, while on guard-duty 
in the army, was killed a short distance from the 
city of Buffalo. With great energy and determina- 
tion, he sought to defend himself, laying two per- 
sons dead at his feet ; but the third fired upon him, 
and he fell dead upon the ground. He was then 
scalped, his body mutilated in a shocking manner, 
and then left for the wild beasts to devour. The 
next day, the captain of his company, passing that 
way, saw the body and at once recognized it, picked 
up the corpse, and sent it home to the father's 
house. This affliction came heavily upon the family, 
and especially upon Richard, who was so devotedly 
attached to his brother, so near his own age. The 
father was too much overcome to act as chaplain, as 
on a former occasion, and the son and brother was 
buried with none to administer a word of religious 
comfort and consolation. 

About this time Mr. Cary fell sick with an epi- 
demic, and, for some time, his life was despaired of. 
During his sickness his conscience was troubled 
with a sense of sin, and, for a time, he contemplated 



160 EMINENT PEEACHEHS. 

seeking Christ. But, after his recovery, he drove 
most of his conviction from his mind, accepted the 
Calvinistic view of the atonement, and settled down 
upon the doctrine of election as entertained by his 
mother. He often remarked that there was no need 
of his seeking Christ, for if he was to be saved he 
should be, and if he was to be damned he must be, 
and there was no occasion for him to make an effort 
to thwart the decrees of the Almighty. 

In June, 1814, Rev. Jeremiah Folsom, while on 
a missionary tour through the newly-settled country, 
visited the neighborhood. Mr. Cary had never seen 
a Freewill Baptist minister before. From an anxiety 
to gratify an idle curiosity, he embraced the earliest 
opportunity of hearing the stranger. Mr. Folsom's 
plain, faithful preaching arrested his attention, and 
he was strongly convicted of sin. Still, in his 
blindness, he pursued the ways of death. But the 
arrows of truth had fastened deeply in his heart, 
and he was not at ease. God's Spirit was' striving 
with him, and constantly pressing upon his atten- 
tion the subject of his soul's salvation. At this 
time, however, he was struggling to resist, and thus, 
by grieving the Spirit, was only adding sin to sin. 

March 12, 1815, he was married to Miss Susan- 
nah Rice. She was an amiable, worthy young lady, 
who, in after years, did much to assist him in his 
arduous work of proclaiming the gospel. In Novem- 
ber of the same year, they commenced housekeep- 
ing, and, for more than half a century, continued to 
sit at the same table, and walk hand in hand in 
life's rugged way. When housekeeping commenced, 



RICHARD M. OARY. 161 

the force of a father's example began to be felt. 
He remembered the family altar, and felt the neces- 
sity of prayer at the fireside. 

In July, 1816, that ever-memorable cold season, 
Mr. Folsom came again to preach in this vicinity 
the unsearchable riches of Christ. His preaching 
was practical and searching. Mr. Cary, being ill at 
ease with God and his conscience, sought opportun- 
ity for personal conversation with him. Mr. Fol- 
som explained to the young penitent so clearly and 
fully the doctrines of the atonement, the freedom of 
the will, man's moral obligation with reference to 
God's law, that he was soon made to see his condi- 
tion, as a lost sinner, in an entirely new light 
Then urged on by his conscience, and other means 
of grace, he sought and found forgiveness of sins 
through the mercy of God. Immediately after con- 
version he erected the family altar, and maintained 
it during life. In September, 1816, with seven 
others, he was baptized, and organized with them 
into a Freewill Baptist Church. 

He soon began to feel impressions of duty with 
reference to preaching. On the evening of October 
3, 1816, in the town of Boston, Erie County, New 
York, he delivered his first sermon from Luke ii, 49. 
His soul was made happy, and led nearer to God 
than ever before. He was, however, somewhat em- 
barrassed, and, after the effort was concluded, fell 
into great temptation in view of his want of proper 
education and fitness for the work. While his lack 
of culture did much to prevent an immediate and 
hearty entrance upon the work he has so much de- 
14 



162 EMINENT PREACH EES. 

sired to see advanced, at the same time it seemed to 
make him humble, and to feel more sensibly the 
need of divine aid and support. He earnestly de- 
sired that he might not be deceived with reference 
to duty, nor run before he was sent. 

In June, of the same year, he began to visit, and 
tried, as best he could, to improve his gift in 
preaching. He became acquainted with the people 
in Hamburg, and there commenced labor. Here he 
met with marked success, and saw many brought 
from darkness to light, and from the power of sin 
to the liberty of the sons of God. He continued 
the pastoral care of this church for a period of 
twelve successive years. In 1817, he commenced 
his labor in tjie town of Zoar. Here, again, God 
crowned his efforts with abundant success. 

In June, 1820, he was publicly set apart to the 
work of the gospel ministry. During the recital of 
his Christian experience and call to the ministry, 
many were excited to tears, and none seemed to 
doubt the genuineness of his conviction, or the pro- 
priety of his ordination. The first sermon preached 
after ordination was in Zoar, on the following Sab- 
bath. Soon after this time, he preached the first 
sermon ever delivered in that part of Ellicotville, 
Cattaraugus County, now called Ashford. The 
second Sabbath after his ordination he spent in Lyn- 
don, where he baptized and broke bread. This was 
his first experience in administering the ordinances. 

Soon after this he baptized in West Concord, a 
number of converts, which the Lord gave as seals 
to his ministry. In the autumn of 1820, he held a 



EICHAKD M. CARY. 163 

series of meetings in Ashford. Here God's power 
in saving sinners was astonishingly displayed. The 
entire community was made to feel its gracious in- 
fluence. Scarcely a family but received bountifully 
of the precious mercy-drops. 

In the month of November, he organized a church 
as the fruit of this meeting. He engaged as pastor 
of the new organization, and continued to labor as 
such a portion of the time for the next succeeding 
twenty years. With this church he enjoyed many 
precious revivals, and led many inquiring souls to 
God. This church, we believe, still continues a 
monument of his self-sacrificing labors and devo- 
tion. 

August 17, 1821, he assisted in the organization 
of the Holland Purchase Yearly Meeting. At that 
time this organization embraced all the Freewill 
Baptist churches in the State of New York, viz. : 
Twenty-seven churches, twenty elders, thirteen licen- 
tiates, and eight hundred and sixty-eight communi- 
cants. On that occasion he became personally ac- 
quainted with David Marks, a lad of fifteen years, 
w T ho was out on his first preaching tour. In 1821, 
Cary and Marks labored in a protracted meeting in 
Eden, where a large number found peace in believ- 
ing. At the close of the revival Mr. Cary organ- 
ized a church, over which he acted as pastor as his 
limited time and opportunities would permit. 

In 1823, he commenced meetings in Forestville, 
where he saw much' good done, and planted a 
church; but he was unable to bestow upon it much 
pastoral labor; he could visit it but once a quarter, 



164 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

and, for want of nursing, the organization lost its 
visibility. In September, 1825, assisted by Rev. 
Samuel Wire, he organized the Little Valley 
Church according to the Freewill Baptist Treatise. 
He preached the morning sermon, then baptized fif- 
teen. From this time he became their pastor, 
preached to them once a month, saw many happy 
conversions, baptized a great number of the newly- 
born, amongst others one Mr. Crosby, who after- 
ward became pastor of the church. 

In the autumn of 1826, he commenced preaching 
in Springville. A revival soon occurred, and a 
more general work is seldom witnessed. It spread 
over a large region of country in every direction. 
Most of the converts, however, found their homes 
among other churches. In March, 1827, he organ- 
ized the East Concord Church, to which he preached 
till September, 1828. Added to his other labors, he 
attended nearly all the funerals in six townships. 
This was a most severe tax upon his sympathies and 
health. 

About this time he received a call to preach in 
Buffalo. His heart, in all its fullness, went there ; 
but he was deterred from entering personally upon 
this field because of work on hand, and the feeble 
state of health consequent upon excessive toil. But, 
notwithstanding all the premonitions of disability, 
he continued his labors. Most of his traveling was 
done on horseback, as the country was new, and the 
facilities for travel were not then as now. He re- 
ceived no stipulated salary; but accepted such do- 
nations as the friends saw proper to bestow. His 



EICHAED M. CAEY. 165 

supplies were mostly obtained by his manual labor, 
as he seldom received more than a hundred dollars 
a year for preaching. But he did not wait for a 
promised salary, nor for an urgent call from some 
wealthy church ; but, in his zeal for God, pressed 
forward, enduring poverty, pain, and persecutions, 
counting not even his life dear unto himself, that he 
might win souls to Christ. 

In 1835, he, with others, raised money, built, and 
dedicated the Boston meeting-house. The sermon 
was preached by Rev. D. M. L. Boll in ; it was, at 
that time, the only Freewill Baptist church west of 
Attica. This building cost $2,200, leaving the 
church so heavily burdened that, for a time, it em- 
barrassed and retarded their religious prosperity. 
Noble-hearted and true, Mr. Cary, from his limited 
means, afforded considerable aid, and also gave six- 
teen months of gratuitous labor in the pulpit. He 
then had a family of eight children, and was not 
worth more than one thousand dollars. 

He commenced a revival meeting in Springville, 
in the autumn of 1836, and the efforts were greatly 
blessed. He immersed twenty-two, and, in West 
Concord, thirty-seven, as the fruit of his labors 
that season. In 1837, he also baptized his eldest 
son, Calvin. This was a happy hour, as it rejoiced 
his heart to see his son walking in the ways of 
righteousness and peace. In July, 1838, he received 
a call from the church in Byron. He went to their 
aid, and labored a few months to good acceptance, 
but resigned on account of failing health. After 
leaving there, he spent considerable time in meet- 



166 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

ings with Mr. Marks. In October, 1841, Kev. Ran- 
som Dunn held a series of meetings with hi in in 
Boston; but little apparent good was the result, and 
Mr. Cary became very sad and discouraged with 
reference to that place. 

During the following winter, in company with 
Mr. Dart, he held meetings in West Concord, where 
they met with most encouraging success. The same 
winter he spent a number of weeks in Collins ; had 
a very gracious revival, during which he immersed 
twenty-five converts, and added them to the church. 

In the spring of 1842, he contemplated a change 
of location, and opened correspondence with the 
Home Mission Board with reference to the West. 
In the following autumn he settled in Johnstown, 
Rock County, Wisconsin, which place, up to the 
time of his death, continued his only permanent 
home. There were no meetings of any kind in the 
vicinity, and there was labor needed in the new and 
yet sparsely-settled neighborhood. He commenced 
preaching in Johnstown and other places im- 
mediately, and, before the close of the year, had 
gathered some into the fold of Christ. On the 22d 
of January, 1843, he organized the Johnstown 
Church, assisted by Rev. F. P. Augir. 

In June, 1845, he went three hundred miles to at- 
tend the Illinois Yearly Meeting, which, at that time, 
embraced all the Freewill Baptist organizations in 
that State and Wisconsin. At that meeting the 
Wisconsin branclr received dismission, in order to 
form the Wisconsin Yearly Meeting. This con- 
sisted of what is now lsnown as the Honey Creek 



RICHARD M. CARY. 167 

Quarterly Meeting. Mr. Cary received an appoint- 
ment from the Home Mission Board in 1843, to act 
as missionary for Illinois and Wisconsin, and con- 
tinued to act as such until 1846, performing much 
labor in different parts of the country, to the great 
comfort and edification of the settlers. 

In the autumn and winter of 1849, he enjoyed a 
thorough revival in Johnstown, in which he saw 
much of the glory of God; large numbers were 
added to the church. He also commenced labor 
sometime previous to this, with a branch of the 
Johnstown Church, near Turtle Creek, on Kock 
Prairie, now known as the Bradford Church, where 
he bestowed considerable care for a series of years. 
To him this was a place which ever remained dear. 
From this time for several years, his health was 
very poor, and, although he performed more or less 
work in the ministry, the data are not very com- 
plete from which we have to draw information. 

In 1854, we still find his health feeble, and, 
thinking himself it might perhaps be his last, he 
made the following record : " The circumstances of 
my health have been such as to prevent me from 
baptizing for a period of more than seven years of 
my ministry; but, according to my best record, 
about five hundred have received baptism at my 
hands." He planted twelve churches, and also as- 
sisted' in the organization of a number of others. 
He assisted in forming four Quarterly Meetings and 
two Yearly Meetings. He assisted in ordaining 
about twenty ministers, and preached about six 
hundred funeral sermons. During the years 1856 






168 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

and 1857, he preached some in McHenry, Illinois, 
and traveled by railroad from home also, when the 
state of his health would permit, in 1858, but with 
what encouragement and success we are not in- 
formed. 

In 1859, he preached most of the time at John- 
stown Center ; also, at the Poor-house, and at Old 
Johnstown. This year his health was good, and his 
journal states that he lost not a Sabbath from ill 
health ; and also preached twelve funeral sermons. 
In the year 1860, he moved to Cherry Valley, Ill- 
inois. He was then sixty-six years of age. As the 
result of his labors this year, he baptized six; also 
preached ten funeral sermons, and married four 
couples ; he remained with this church two years. 
With reference to the results of the second year, we 
are not informed. In February, 1862, he returned 
to Johnstown. 

In 1863, he was confined with sickness from 
June till November. From this time he did not 
undertake any pastoral labor. However, he preached 
and lectured, and was especially zealous in efforts 
for the freedmen ; he also acted as Quarterly Meet- 
ing agent for collecting funds. Several of his chil- 
dren had died, and, in February, 1868, he received 
the painful intelligence of the death of his son, 
Roswell, who died very suddenly in Nashville, 
Tennessee. And so, in the same year of his own 
death, God seemed cutting off all human ties that 
he might be translated the more easily from his 
earthly to his heavenly home. 

On the 15th of September, 1868, accompanied by 



RICHARD M. CARY. 169 

his wife, he left home for a visit to his youngest 
daughter in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He arrived 
there on Wednesday, the 16th, in usual health. On 
the following Monday he complained of feeling un- 
well, and thought a tumor was gathering. The 
family examined and treated it for a few days, 
thinking it no sufficient cause for alarm. On the 
5th of October they called a physician ; he called it 
a carbuncle ; thought it a serious thing for one of 
his years to endure; hoped it would yield under 
treatment. But the powers of life were nearly ex- 
hausted, and the disease bore him on toward the 
grave. On Friday morning, at one o'clock, October 
16th, he calmly and sweetly fell asleep in Jesus, 
aged seventy-three years, ten months, and six days. 
His remains were brought immediately home for in- 
terment, and, on the 18th, the funeral sermon was 
preached by Rev. G. H. Hubbard, to an unusually 
large and solemn congregation. 

Almost the entire community felt like saying, 
with the family, " Our father is dead !" He had 
been called " Father Gary " by all classes, and re- 
garded as a father in Israel by all who knew him 
in that country. It was found that, in 1866, in 
view of the uncertainty of life, he had made, to the 
entire satisfaction of his family, his last will and 
testament. Among other wishes expressed, it may 
be proper to notice the following : " I wish that a 
plain marble stone mark the place of my final rest, 
on which shall be inscribed these words, 'Richard 
M. Cary, born December 10, 1794; entered the 
ministry 1816 ; departed this life in 1868. Jesus, 
15 



170 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

my all, on thee I fall.' The avails of my "teeth, set 
in gold plate, whatever it may be when disposed of, 
I give to the Western Freedmen's Mission, that, as 
they have aided me in preaching Christ, they may 
still preach the gospel to the poor." 

Mr. Cary was a man of much more than medium 
intellect, of unbiased judgment in making estimate 
of men and things, and carried more of dignity in 
his bearing than is usual among ministers and men. 
In person, he was tall, slender, and of very fine and 
graceful figure, with mild, yet expressive blue eyes. 
He became prematurely gray, and, for the last 
thirty years of his life, from ill health, appeared 
much older than he really was. Few men carry 
stronger conviction to the minds of all that they 
are entirely honest and sincere. If it be true that 
an honest man is the noblest work of God, then 
surely he was among the noblest of them all. 

His preaching was eminently biblical, and par- 
took largely of the solemn and impressive char- 
acter of the man, being replete with scriptural illus- 
trations and incidents. His spirit and manners were 
cordial and kind ; yet he never assumed too much 
familiarity, and was careful and reserved in conver- 
sation. Though unlearned in the schools, he was 
a man of no ordinary amount of practical informa- 
tion, and was as refined and gentle in all his de- 
portment as the most accomplished. In his death 
the ministry lost a venerable father, the Freewill 
Baptist denomination one of its early pillars, the 
cause of Christ an early pleader and able defender, 
and the church one of its wisest counselors. 



DAVID MARKS. Ui 

CHAPTER XVI. 

DAVID MARKS. 

David Marks, born in Shendaken, Ulster 
County, New York, November 4, 1805, was a de- 
scendant of Mordica Marks, a Jew. A sense of 
death and judgment, at the tender age of four 
years, filled his mind with deep solemnity. The 
admonitory counsels of a pious mother, who sought 
favorable opportunities to impress his mind with 
moral and religious truths, exerted a very salutary 
influence. His father, meeting with misfortunes, 
returned to Connecticut, his native State, where he 
resided about four years. During this time an older 
son was called away by death, which was a great 
affliction to the family, especially to David, produc- 
ing a deep sense of his own mortality. 

In the autumn of 1816, — his father having re- 
moved to Junius, Seneca County, New York, — 
while riding alone through a wood, his life was 
much endangered by a sudden fall from a horse. In- 
stantly the query rushed upon him, " Had your life 
here closed, where would your soul now have been V* 
Conscience answered, "It would have been in hell !" 
Falling upon his knees, he made oath unto God, 
saying: "As long as thou shalt give me life and 
ability, like Daniel, I will kneel and pray to thee 
thrice in a day, even though my years should be 
lengthened to three score and ten, and hell be my 
doom at last." To fulfill his oath required no 



172 EMINENT PKEACHEBS. 

effort ; for it seemed to him that his eternal destiny 
depended upon its performance. His constant 
prayer was that his soul might be born of the 
Spirit. Ere long his heart was filled with joy, and 
the exclamation burst from his lips, " Glory to 
God !" The thought, for the first time, was sug- 
gested, that possibly God had forgiven his sins. 

He was now about eleven years old ; yet so lim- 
ited had been his educational advantages that it was 
with difficulty that he could read at all. Yet his 
anxiety to become acquainted with the Scriptures 
was very great. He commenced reading the Bible, but 
riot without spelling many of the words, frequently 
continuing his study two or three hours after the 
family had retired to rest. His prayer to God was, 
" If I have received remission of sins, grant unto 
me the evidence of the same, and forbid that I 
should trust in any thing short of that effectual 
change, which alone can prepare the soul for the 
pure joys of heaven." At length a witness, at least, 
of having experienced regeneration, gladdened his 
heart. 

No revival marked the period of his conversion ; 
professors were greatly at ease in Zion ; scorn and 
contempt were heaped upon him ; but these things 
affected him but little; the Lord gave grace and 
strength equal to his day. In the fall of 1818, the 
Calvinistic Baptist Church received him as a can- 
didate for baptism ; yet they subsequently refused, 
for various reasons, to baptize him. 

His parents, believing that the ministry' would be 
the great work of his life, concluded to place him 



DAVID MARKS. 173 

in a free school at Providence, Rhode Island. With 
this object in view, in compliance with the wish of 
his parents, he left home alone at the age of thir- 
teen, and traveled on foot three hundred and sixty- 
eight miles. He reached Providence in twelve 
days, and was kindly received by the President of 
Brown University ; but was informed that, though * 
tuition would be free, no provision was made for 
board and clothing. He returned home with a sad 
heart. Besides, he was not free from trial and 
temptation. One evening he came to a toll-bridge, 
near Albany, and all around being silent, the fol- 
lowing suggestions were presented : " You are now 
a child, in a land of strangers, without sufficient 
money to bear your expenses to your parents; you 
can climb this gate, pass over the bridge without 
harming it, and thus save a little that will do you 
good without injury to any one." With these 
views, he passed over the gate; but conscience im- 
mediately upbraided him. He returned, and de- 
sired, like an honest child, to pay for crossing the 
bridge. A woman coming to the door, he, with 
trembling, related the whole affair. "Ah ! dear 
child," said she, laughing heartily, " you may go 
free ; I will receive nothing, and my blessings fol- 
low you." 

In July, 1819, Pev. Zebulon Dean, accompanied 
by Samuel Wire, then an unordained preacher, 
visited Junius. Young Marks again related his 
Christian experience, which met the approval of the 
ministers, and, on the next day, July 11th, he was 
baptized, and, on the 17th of the same month, was 



174 -EMINENT PREACHERS. 

received as a member of the Freewill Baptist 
Church in the town of Phelps. Afterward a 
church was formed in Junius, of which he became 
a member the next year. 

In the year 1820, being fifteen years of age, he 
felt the first serious impression that duty would call 
him to labor in the vineyard of the Lord. At one 
time in particular he felt a direct impulse, as if 
from heaven, " Go thou and preach the gospel." 
Then again he queried thus with himself: "Can it 
be that God will pass by the learned, the wise, the 
experienced, and choose a child of fifteen years to 
preach the gospel?" Yet a sweet voice whispered, 
" My grace is sufficient for thee. Out of the mouths 
of babes and sucklings I have perfected praise." • 

At length duty was made so plain, that he con- 
sented to walk in the path of obedience. But there 
was one prominent obstacle in the way. His 
parents were poor, and needed his assistance at 
home. Although they had permitted him to spend 
a few weeks with a minister in attending meetings 
in the adjoining towns, they were unwilling to give 
him permission to go again. But after some days 
had passed, his father, bursting into tears, said : 
" My son, you may go ; for some time we have felt 
that we were like Pharaoh, who would not let the 
children of Israel go to worship God in the wilder- 
ness. We give you your time, and will no longer 
detain you." 

This disclosure, wholly unexpected to David, 
overpowered him. After attending a few meetings, 
and laboring in a revival with some other min- 



DAVID MARKS. 175 

isters, he returned to his parents to make further 
arrangements for traveling as an itinerant minister. 
The church in Junius having given him a letter of 
commendation, the 26th of April, 1821, was ap- 
pointed for his departure. It dawned a beautiful 
morning; but grief sat heavy on the hearts of 
that family. They bowed together at the altar of 
prayer, and his mother, with trembling voice, called 
on the name of the Lord, fervently entreating that 
the blessing of heaven might rest upon her beloved 
son, just going from her care, perhaps forever. 

The moment of separation came ; and, as the son 
witnessed the agonizing emotions of the parents, his 
spirit almost failed within him. But while grief 
was almost bursting his heart, the following prom- 
ise of Christ afforded comfort : " There is no man 
that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, 
or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my 
sake and the gospel's, but he shall receive a hun- 
dredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and 
sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with 
persecutions ; and, in the world to come, eternal 
life." 

His first labors were in several towns on what 
was called the " Holland Purchase," yet not with- 
out enduring severe trials. His labors were, how- 
ever, very successful, especially for one. of his years. 
The novelty of his boyhood drew out immense con- 
gregations. During his absence of three months, 
his father's family were greatly afflicted. The 
burning of their house occurred, and, in the mean- 
time, his mother sickened and died. The latter 



176 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

news fell upon the young itinerant like a thunder- 
bolt, and he retired in secret that his heart might 
bleed its anguish. But, notwithstanding his own 
grief, he hastened home to sympathize with his 
father, brothers, and sister. He next attended the 
organization of the Holland Purchase Yearly Meet- 
ing, preached in his native town, but met with op- 
position. He again made a second tour to the 
" Holland Purchase." 

Having enjoyed the advantages of a school only 
ten months, his education, as a matter of course, 
was very limited when he commenced preaching. 
"About this time," says he, " I felt considerable de- 
sire to acquire a knowledge of English grammar; 
but, as my views of duty would not permit me to 
leave the work to which God had appointed me, to 
attend a school, I reasoned to myself thus : If men 
have had sufficient genius to form and arrange the 
rules of language, and the experience and learning 
of ages have presented them in a style, plain and 
familiar, can not a knowledge of the science be ob- 
tained without going to school? The continued 
dropping of water will wear even a stone; by re- 
solution and perseverance, any thing within the 
sphere of man may be accomplished. 

"As a knowledge of grammar might greatly ex- 
tend my usefulness, I concluded that, if life con- 
tinue, I can and will obtain this knowledge. Yet I 
had no book, neither money to purchase one. But, 
as one day's labor on the Erie Canal, that was near, 
would furnish me with the money, I went to a 
marsh west of Montezuma, and engaged in pumping 



DAVID MAEKS. 177 

water. Soon one of the laborers accosted me thus : 
i What ! you at work on the canal ? I thought you 
spent your whole time preaching/ Telling him the 
occasion of my being thus engaged, he seemed 
touched, and gave me a shilling; then called on his 
comrades to show a like favor. They soon gave me 
money enough for my desired object, and dismissed 
me, requesting that I should preach to the work- 
men the ensuing evening. Having now obtained a 
book, I commenced the study of grammar ; and oo 
casionally received some instruction from friends 
that I met with in my subsequent travels. I studied 
while traveling on the road for hundreds of miles, 
and, at length, measurably succeeded in my desired 

object." 

In the year 1822, when a little past sixteen, he 
made a journey to New Hampshire, a distance of 
four hundred miles. He had a young horse, but no 
saddle, great coat, or money. Coming to Brattle- 
boro', there was a toll-bridge across the Connecticut 
River ; but, having no money, a free passage was re- 
quested. 

" What is your business ?" inquired the toll- 
receiver. 

" I am trying to preach the gospel," was the re- 

Pty- 

" What ! you preach ? Who sent you ?" 

" The Lord, I trust." 

" What ! the Lord send you without money ! I 
think he is a poor paymaster." 

" He sent his apostles without money or scrip ; 
and, in like manner, I think he has sent me." 



178 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

" Have you any friends in the place from which 
you came?" 

" I believe I have." 

" I doubt whether you have any ; if you had, 
they would have provided money for your expen- 
ses; I guess you are an imposter." 

" I will show you my letters of commendation." 

" I do n't wish to see them ; pay your toll and be 
off." 

"As I told you, I have no money." 

"I command you to say no more; but go back 
whence you came." 

The gate was then closed, and " the boy preacher " 
turned away, leaned over the railing of the bridge, 
contrasted his present situation with former days, 
while his tears mingled with the stream. At 
length, a stranger passing, paid his toll, and he 
went on his way. But his trials were not at an 
end. Weary and hungry, no one seem#d disposed 
to entertain him, and the possibility of perishing in 
the street by cold was suggested. But meeting a 
deacon, he gave him money sufficient to pay his 
lodgings. 

Leaving New Hampshire, he returned to New 
York ; thence he went to Ohio and Kentucky ; 
back again to New York ; thence to Connecticut ; 
again returned to New York ; made a visit to 
Canada; all wdthin less than one year, and, at the 
same time, reading, studying, preaching, and labor- 
ing successfully in revivals. What is still more re- 
markable, all these journeys were made in less than 
one year, and that, too, before he was seventeen, 



DAVID MAKKS. 179 

principally on horseback and on foot. This one 
year's travel and labor in the gospel ministry 
is a fair specimen of his travels and labors for 
several subsequent years. A marked success fol- 
lowed his labors, and he became eminent, far and 
near, as a revivalist. 

" During the first ten years of my ministry/' says 
he, " my principles did not allow me to preach on 
contracts, or receive any thing that could bear any 
semblance to a salary, and rarely ever did I receive 
a public contribution. In this time my travels 
were extended from the Ohio River to the Penob- 
scot, amounting to 42,353 miles, and, during the 
same time, I attended 3,489 meetings, and the 
most of these labors were in new sections of the 
country and among destitute churches. I sup- 
ported myself mainly by extra labor and exertion, 
such as teaching school, and publishing and selling 
books." 

It would, indeed, be a pleasure to give a con- 
nected account of the life and labors of this emi- 
nent servant of Christ ; but so abundant were they, 
that it is impossible, in a biographical sketch, 
even to glance at them. Then, passing over many 
interesting events, we must confine ourselves to 
those only which are deemed of the most impor- 
tance. 

As he advanced in years and extended his travels, 
his reflective mind saw the power of the press, and 
to counteract, in some degree, the deleterious in- 
fluence of immoral publications, he, with others, 
put forth exertions, to establish upon a permanent 



180 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

basis, a Book Concern, of which he was appointed, 
in 1831, General Agent for four years. During 
this time he became responsible for expenses and 
debts contracted in raising the establishment to the 
amount of twenty thousand dollars. JEEe now acted 
in the double capacity of minister and agent, 
sometimes traveling whole nights in the severest 
weather, and often allowing himself but two or 
three hours' sleep in twenty-four. This course, 
however, greatly impaired his health, and under- 
mined a powerful physical constitution. 

In May, 1834, partly to improve his health, he 
located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and took 
the pastoral care of a church, laboring also in other 
places in that vicinity as opportunity presented. 
Near the close of 1835, having given the utmost 
satisfaction, he resigned his Agency for the Book 
Concern, and made a transfer of the same to a 
Board of Trustees. 

In January, 1836, he commenced his labors at 
Rochester, New York, under the direction of the 
New York Home Mission Society, for the purpose 
of building up a church in that city, in which he 
was successful. Here he delivered a series of prac- 
tical discourses of a theological cast. A number 
gave heed to the Word, and were converted. He 
also answered, in three lectures, the arguments of 
Mr. Abner Kneeland, the noted infidel, who had 
come to Rochester. These lectures were subse- 
quently published in the Morning Star. But, in the 
course of a year or two, in consequence of his sup- 
port being withdrawn, and other pecuniary embar- 



DAVID MAKKS. 181 

rassrnents, Mr. Marks very reluctantly yielded up 
his charge. He commenced traveling again, and, 
after awhile, located in Varysburg. 

In 1842, he removed to Oberlin, Ohio, for the 
further prosecution of his studies, and to obtain the 
rest which his declining health so much needed. 
But there was no rest for his active spirit. His 
great and generous heart could not resist the many 
urgent, thrilling calls, at home and abroad, for help. 
From this time till November, 1844, he did much, 
in addition to his other labors, to promote the cause 
of Christian education, having the agency of two 
literary institutions; one in New Hampshire, the 
other in Ohio. Thus he continued his labors, im- 
proving every possible moment, until the very en- 
ergies of life were exhausted, and the hour of his 
final release came. 

His last victory was one of complete joy and 
triumph, — such as is seldom witnessed on earth. 
" I look back upon my life," said he, upon his death- 
bed, " and have a sweet consciousness that I have 
not lived to please myself; but have, through grace, 
been able to bear a pointed testimony for God, and 
that, regardless of the frowns and praises even of 
my friends, I have done what my Lord called me to 
do ; and now, while I approach the dark valley, 
God sends angels to minister unto me. They hover 
around me, and there is not a cloud between me and 
my Savior." It would occupy pages to record the 
many testimonies he gave at different times during 
his sickness. 

Among other things, he delivered his " Farewell 



182 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

Address to the Freewill Baptists and the World," 
written from his mouth in short hand by a steno- 
grapher. About two weeks before he died, by his 
request, he was carried to the Oberlin Chapel, where 
he delivered another address, which was reported 
for the Oberlin Evangelist. Both of these addresses, 
though delivered in a dying state, were eminently 
characteristic of the man who delivered them, evinc- 
ing a depth of thought and power of argument 
which surprises the reader. He died December 1, 
1845, aged forty years. 

Perhaps no minister in the Freewill Baptist De- 
nomination was more highly esteemed in life and 
more universally lamented in death than David 
Marks. His name was associated with so many 
great and noble deeds of Christian philanthropy 
that all mourned at his departure. " He had per- 
formed," said Professor, since President, Finney, 
who preached his funeral sermon, " more than the 
work of a hundred years." He was not only dis- 
tinguished for his abundant and faithful pulpit 
labors, but he was also a prolific newspaper writer, 
and the publisher of several valuable works. For 
some fifteen years preceding his death, he was an 
associate editor of, and reporter to, the Morning 
Star. He was eight times a member of the Gen- 
eral Conference, and exerted a controlling influence 
over that body. He possessed gigantic powers of 
mind, well disciplined by an extensive and critical 
course of reading. But whatever acquisition he 
possessed, whether of talent, time, money, or in- 
fluence, it was most freely consecrated upon the 



DAVID MARKS. 183 

holy altar of God for the conversion of the 
world. 

As a speaker, he was very impressive, his manner 
and style being peculiarly his own. As a man of 
business, he was most scrupulously accurate in all 
his dealings. As a minister, he was among the most 
able, useful, and influential in the denomination. 
As a friend, he was true and faithful, ever willing 
to make sacrifices for the good of others. As a 
husband, he was kind and affectionate, eminently 
excelling in the domestic virtues, and emphatically 
"the light and joy of his home." 

In person, he was short, heavy, thick-set, with 
amply-developed vital organs, giving great power 
and activity to a massive brain. Phrenologically 
speaking, he had large perceptive and reflective 
faculties ; a retentive memory ; large benevolence, 
and an intuitive knowledge of human nature. The 
moral, religious, and conscientious elements of his 
nature were prominent characteristics. In man- 
ners, he was easy, social, and unaffected, securing to 
himself many warm and ardent friends. But, above 
all, he honored God, and this was the great secret 
of his almost unbounded success. As a pastor, he 
did not excel; but, as an evangelist, he had few, if 
any, superiors in this day. 

In 1831, at the age of twenty-six, Mr. Marks 
published a narrative of his life and labors. Soon 
after his death, a Memoir of his Life, edited by his 
wife, was also published. It contained, in an abridged 
form, the above-named narrative, with an addition 






184 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

of about two hundred and fifty pages, making a re- 
spectable volume. The work, containing, as it does, 
an impartial history of a noble Christian life, is 
still held in high esteem. It had an extensive cir- 
culation. 



ELIAS HUTCHINS. 185 

CHAPTER XVII. 

ELIAS HUTCHINS. 

Elias Hutchins was born in New Portland, 
Maine, on the 5th of June, 1801. In the fall of 
1818, he was converted in the town of his nativity, 
where, also, in February of the following year, he 
was baptized by his uncle, Rev. Samuel Hutchins, 
and joined the first church. On the 18th of Jan- 
uary, 1823, at a session of the Farmington Quarterly 
Meeting, held in Vienna, he was licensed to preach. 
Before this time he had passed through many trials, 
hoth as to his Christian experience and his call to 
preach. At one time he requested that his name 
might be erased from the church-book, insisting that 
he was no Christian. To this distressing doubt he 
he was led, in part, by the fact that he did not ex- 
perience the ecstacy of some of his fellow-Chris- 
tians, and in part by his constitutional tendency of 
self-depreciation. It is well that he had a sound 
adviser, otherwise one of the most polished and 
symmetrical ornaments of the church might have 
been lost. 

It is related that he preached at least a few times 
when he was only about eighteen years of age, some 
three or four years before he was licensed. It seems 
that he waited for peculiar impressions as the proof 
of his call to the ministry. These, he thought, he 
did not receive. Hence, it remained, either to give 
up without any further effort, or decide the doubt- 
16 



186 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

ful case by making the trial. He took the latter 
course. It seemed like a hard way of demonstrating 
duty; but no other was open before him. Hard 
way, indeed, if he was to be judge of his own ef- 
forts, unless there was a call in his heart too deep 
for his conscience to permit him to reason away. 
After the trial, what was his conclusion? Did he 
preach well enough to decide that he had the call 
according to the philosophical motto, " Talent is the 
call ?" Far from it. Of what painful distrust was 
his decision born ! "As there must be one less tal- 
ented and less useful than all the rest," says he, " I 
supposed I might as well as any one else be that 
one, if the trial should decide it was duty for me 
to preach. " Well was it for that young man, who 
used these words without the first tinge of affected 
modesty, to have a friend say to him with decision, 
"Elias, you must preach or lose your own soul." 
But, with all this help and encouragement, he did 
not come to the decision, till, like Jonah, he tried 
what he called a voyage to Tarshish. He must, at 
least, thought he, acquire a little money before giv- 
ing himself to the ministry. 

With this object in view, he, in the fall of 1821, 
went to East Florida, to cook for a company of men 
who went from Maine to cut timber for the United 
States Navy. Thirty-seven of the fifty-three com- 
posing the company, were sick at one time. As he 
was one of the sick, he returned the next spring, in 
debt to his employers for board and passage home. 
This disappointment was the means of inducing him 
to give himself wholly to the ministry. On return- 



ELIAS HUTCHINS. 187 

ing from Florida, he hired out to work at farming; 
obtained money to pay what he owed in conse- 
quence of his sickness there, then earned money in 
the same way to purchase a horse, saddle, and bridle. 
This done, he gave himself wholly to the work of 
an evangelist, previously to which he often preached 
on the* Sabbath as the way was opened before him. 
On entering the itinerant field, he spent most of the 
time for about two years in the towns of Wilton, 
Dixfield, Farmington, New Sharon, Belgrade, Sid- 
ney, Gardiner, Edgecomb, Westport, and some other 
places in Maine. In most of these towns consider- 
able revival followed his labor. 

On the first day of February, 1824, he was or- 
dained at Wilton, as an evangelist. We judge that 
his fields of labor after his ordination were the 
same as before, till November, 1826, at which time 
he set out to visit the churches in Ohio and Indiana, 
where he remained nearly two years. He labored 
most of his time in Marion, Clark, and Warren 
Counties, Ohio ; and in Dearborn and Switzerland 
Counties, Indiana. The churches were encouraged, 
and a goodly number of souls were converted to 
God. 

In the fall of 1828, he returned to New England, 
and spent the winter in Sandwich, New Hampshire, 
where a precious revival was enjoyed. He spent 
the winter of 1829 in North Carolina, among the 
churches that were then called Freewill Baptists. 
Very large and attentive audiences assembled to 
hear him, and many professed faith in Christ dur- 
ing his visit. As he was from the North, and took 



188 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

considerable notice of the slaves, both in the pulpit 
and out of it, large numbers of colored persons were 
among his hearers. Hundreds of them were some- 
times in attendance, and, on one Sabbath, it was es- 
timated that five hundred were present. 

In the summer of 1830, he went to Ohio and In- 
diana, where he remained more than a year, visiting 
again the churches where he had before labored. 
On returning to New England, in the fall of 1831, 
he visited again many of the churches in New 
Hampshire and Maine. During the winter an 
attack of inflammation on the brain and lungs de- 
prived him of consciousness for several days, and 
his life was despaired of. Here he did not forget 
the kind friends who ministered to him in his sick- 
ness, and others on similar occasions. At the time 
of this sickness, it seemed that God raised him up 
in answer to prayer, after all hope in human help 
had failed. So, too, at another time, later in his 
life, there seemed to be divine interposition to raise 
him up in answer to intercessions made by the 
Rockingham Quarterly Meeting. 

In the fall of 1832, he returned to North Caro- 
lina, accompanied by his wife, having the preceding 
spring married Miss Lucy Ambrose, of Sandwich, 
New Hampshire. They were joyfully received and 
kindly welcomed by multitudes in North Carolina, 
and were pressed to make that State their home. 
As an inducement to remain there, they were of- 
fered a house and a slave with which to commence 
housekeeping. The offer was promptly declined, 
and the next spring they returned to the North, 



ELIAS HUTCHINS. 189 

and he soon closed his itinerant labors. In Oc- 
tober, 1833, he became the pastor of the church in 
North Providence, Rhode Island. Here he was 
called to bury his infant son at the age of twelve 
months. The relation of pastor to this church he 
retained till April, 1838, when he resigned his 
charge, and went to Lowell, Massachusetts, where 
he assisted Rev. Nathaniel Thurston in his pastoral 
labors till the first of the following August. 

At that time he took the pastoral care of the 
church in Hampton, New Hampshire, where he re- 
mained till May, 1840, at which time he became 
pastor of the church in New Market, where he 
labored five years. In 1841, during his pastorate 
at New Market, he was appointed Corresponding 
Secretary of the Freewill Baptist Foreign Mission 
Society, and held the office up to the time of his 
death. In New Market, shortly after his removal 
there, he was called to mourn the death of his ex- 
cellent and devoted wife, who left him a daughter, 
an only child, a month old. 

In May, 1845, he accepted a call from the Wash- 
ington-street Church in Dover, New Hampshire, 
and, for a time, in addition to his other labors, he 
edited the Myrtle and the Gospel Rill, 

December 26, 1846, he married Mrs. Marilla 
Marks, widow of the lamented Rev. David Marks. 
He continued his connection as pastor of the last- 
named church till the last of March, 1858, when he 
was seized with a severe nervous fever, which sub- 
sequently assumed a bilious type. He so far re- 
covered as to be able, the following June, to visit 



190 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

New Portland, Maine, his native town. He stopped 
on the way to attend the Kennebec Yearly Meeting, 
and preached during the session. He also preached 
the two Sabbaths that he was in New Portland. 
After his return home in July, he preached three 
Sabbath with the church at Great Falls, when he 
was again prostrated with the bilious fever, which 
confined him to his bed about six weeks. As soon 
as he was able he went to Hampton Beach, where 
he remained three weeks. He was greatly invigor- 
ated by the ocean air, and regained a degree of 
strength that encouraged him to hope he should at- 
tain his former usual state of health. 

The last of November and first of December, for 
three successive Sabbaths, he supplied the vacant 
pulpit of the church in New Market. These were 
his last sermons. Here he took a severe cold, his 
health declined, and he remained feeble through the 
winter, though able to sit up most of the time, and 
to ride when the weather was pleasant. He now 
began to fear that there was not much ground to 
hope for his restoration. Toward spring, however, 
for a time, his symptoms seemed more favorable. 
In the early part of April, 1859, he was suddenly 
taken with nausea, which was followed by vomiting 
nearly a quart of blood. Great prostration ensued, 
but he soon rallied, and, in a few weeks, resorted to 
the sea-side, which again seemed to benefit him. 

In June he went to the New Hampshire Yearly 
Meeting, attended for the last time a meeting of the 
Foreign Mission Committee, and led the Foreign 
Mission Meeting on Saturday afternoon, The first 



ELIAS HUTCHINS. 191 

Sabbath in July, he worshiped for the last time in 
the sanctuary where he had so long dispensed the 
Word of Life, and, for the last time, joined in com- 
memorating the death of Jesus. July 15th, he was 
present at the dedication of the Maine State Sem- 
inary in Lewiston, Maine. This was his last attend- 
ance at an earthly gathering. In the early part of 
August, about a week after his return from Maine, he 
was attacked with diarrhea, which was checked for 
a few days, and then returned upon him with re- 
doubled force. His stomach refused nourishment, 
his flesh wasted with great rapidity, till he became 
exceedingly emaciated, and, on Sabbath evening, 
September 11th, he went to his heavenly rest, aged 
fifty-eight. 

From the time of his last attack he almost re- 
linquished hope of recovery, and consciously ap- 
proached his death. He retained his consciousness 
to the very last. He died as he had lived, calm and 
trustful. His hopes were in Christ Jesus as a per- 
sonage, the Savior of all who obey him. When his 
friends remarked to him that he would soon meet 
the dear ones gone before, he invariably added, 
"And my Jesus." After taking an affectionate leave 
of his family and friends, about five minutes before 
his death, exhorting them to meet him in heaven, 
he whispered, as the last wave passed over him : 
" Trust — trust — trust." These were his last words. 
Fit words for that man to leave us as his last bene- 
faction, the clue to his own perfected character, and 
his peaceful transition. 

The funeral was attended at the Washington- 






192 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

street Church, the place of his labors for thirteen 
years as pastor. The house was crowded, even the 
aisles and vestibule, and many who desired were not 
able to gain admittance. There were about thirty 
ministers present, and many others would have been 
there had not the session of one Yearly Meeting 
and two Quarterly Meetings in the region, called 
them to duty elsewhere. The occasion was one of 
deep solemnity, and, no doubt, contributed to the 
cause to which the subject devoted his life, — the 
conversion of souls. The sermon, which was a 
chaste and appropriate production, was by the Rev. 
Joseph B. Davis, then of Lowell, Massachusetts. 
This was according to an arrangement made by the 
departed. The text was well chosen, — Psalm xxxvii, 
37 : " Mark the perfect man, and behold the up- 
right; for the end of that man is peace." After 
the sermon, brief remarks were made by Revs. 
Daniel M. Graham, Otis R. Bacheler, Silas Curtis, 
and Daniel P. Cilley. 

The mourners then left the house, followed by the 
ministers and members of the church ; then the 
audience in general. Within the vestibule lay the 
coffined skeleton form of the departed preacher in 
his usual neat but plain pulpit dress. Love, meek- 
ness, humility, persuasiveness, patient labor, patient 
suffering, and triumph over death, were all marked 
in that expressive face, even after the spirit had left 
it. On the coffin lay a piece of white satin, on 
which was printed the significant question, "If a 
man die, shall he live again ?" and the Savior's an- 
swer to the same, " I am the resurrection and the 



ELIAS HUTCHINS. 193 

life ; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, 
yet shall he live." On the bosom of the corpse lay 
another piece, with the expressive words, " Remem- 
ber the words I spake unto you while I was yet 
with you." Impressive last sight of that dear 
form. The long procession then moved slowly to 
the cemetery, most of the bells of the place mean- 
while tolling, and the whole city wearing the quiet 
appearance of a Sabbath day. 

As the sad tidings of this good man's departure 
were carried from place to place, and town to town, 
thousands wept and mourned, and many were the 
tributes of respect and affection paid to his vener- 
ated memory. Sermons were preached in different 
places, and several associated bodies of churches and 
other organizations passed befitting resolutions. 
During the session of the Freewill Baptist Trien- 
nial Conference, and the Anniversaries of the Free- 
will Baptist denominational societies, which con- 
vened at Lowell three weeks after his death, and 
continued nine days, many touching references were 
made to his uncommon worth and great usefulness. 
At times these references were so continuous as al- 
most to give the seasons the aspect of funeral serv- 
ices. Nor was this sorrow for his loss, and great 
respect for his memory, confined to the members of 
his own sect. Those of very different theological 
tenets bore the same testimony. The Dover secular 
papers contained a beautiful tribute to his perfected 
character, from a Unitarian minister of that city, 
reported from his address before the Howard Benev- 
olent Society. 
17 



194 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

" Let us not forget," said the Hon. John P. Hale, 
in Dover City Hall, " that we have but lately had 
among us a man who, in his sphere of action, man- 
ifested the highest heroism of character. A man 
who, in his daily walk, exemplified and illustrated 
the religion which he preached. I allude to the 
late Eev. Elias Hutchins. It was my good for- 
tune to know him for a long time, and I have never 
known a man who so uniformly impressed me with 
the conviction of his sincerity, earnestness, and 
fidelity. I have heard more powerful preachers in 
the pulpit ; but the eloquence of his daily life, seen 
and read by all with whom he came in contact, was 
the most convincing appeal ever addressed by a 
Christian minister to the people with whom he 
labored. 

" With a narrow income, he ever practiced the 
most liberal and open-handed charity. He combined 
and harmonized, in a degree I have never seen sur- 
passed, the most opposite traits of character. Gentle 
and tender as a woman in his intercouse with others, 
yet whenever his sense of duty indicated a course 
of conduct as the one he ought to pursue, the ever- 
lasting hills were not more immovable than he. 
Eigid and inflexible in the government of his own 
conduct, he was most lenient and forgiving to others. 
Firm in his OAvn religious faith, and ardently at- 
tached to the sect with which he was identified, he 
had a most catholic and liberal spirit toward those 
who differed from him. Nothing could cause him 
to swerve from what he believed to be right; and 
when he had once fixed on a course which accorded 



ELIAS HUTCHINS. 195 

with his convictions of duty, he pursued it fearlessly, 
utterly regardless of consequences ; and death would 
at any time have been chosen by him in preference 
to a dereliction of duty. 

" Such was the man who quietly and unostenta- 
tiously lived among us for years, and by the force 
of his character, without any of the adventitious ad- 
vantages of wealth and position, acquired the re- 
spect, confidence, and affection of all, and an in- 
fluence equal to any man who has ever lived in this 
community, and, it should be added, always fear- 
lessly exercised on the side of truth, justice, and hu- 
manity. The poor, the oppressed, and the lowly, 
always found in him a friend ready to aid them, not 
only with advice and sympathy, but with a generous 
and open-handed charity. The memory of such a 
man should not be lost, but his example should be 
held up to the young as a convincing proof that 
true greatness of character may be attained and ex- 
hibited in the unostentatious discharge of duty, in 
whatever sphere of life that duty is to be per- 
formed." 



196 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

ELI NOYES, D.D. 

Eli Noyes was bom in Jefferson, Maine, April 
27, 1814. His father, Moses Noyes, was a farmer, 
and universally respected for his integrity, honesty, 
and kindness of heart. He was the peace-maker of 
his neighborhood. He lived to a good old age, and 
died much regretted, as he had lived much beloved. 

Dr. Noyes's mother, Sarah Noyes, was a woman 
of a very strong mind, great energy of character, and 
deep and ardent piety. His early conversion fur- 
nishes another striking evidence of the happy re- 
sults of early maternal faithfulness. He was the 
youngest of nine children. In consequence of ill 
health in childhood, he was confined to the house for 
months together. His earliest recollections were 
connected with his mother's religious teachings and 
her ardent prayers in his behalf. While he sat upon 
her knee, like the mother of the pious Doddridge, 
she taught him Bible history and scriptural stories, 
to which he listened with much delight. She also 
taught him to regard the Sabbath in true Puritanic 
reverence and devotion. To her he was indebted for 
his first knowledge of the heathen world; and, while 
hearing her read Buchanan's Christian Researches 
in India, he first desired to become a missionary. 
By the blessing of God upon his pious mother's 
labors, he devoted himself to the Savior at the very 
early age of ten years, when he was baptized and 



ELI NO YES, D. D. 197 

joined the Calvinistic Church in Jefferson. He 
continued a devoted member of that church till 
1834, when, on account of some change in his relig- 
ious sentiments, he united with the Freewill Bap- 
tists. 

From early life he had strong desires to read and 
study constantly. He read with avidity the books 
he could obtain in the place where he resided, and 
spent what little money he could obtain for such 
works as he could not get there. He was resolved 
to obtain an education; and, after pursuing his 
studies as far as he could in his native town, he 
early commenced teaching to procure the means of 
attending more advanced schools abroad. He taught 
a few months in the winter, and studied the rest of 
his time till he commenced preaching, in 1834, which 
was the year before he went to India. It is said 
that his simple and ardent piety, his studious habits, 
and his uniform kindness and gentleness of spirit 
gained him warm friends at that early period of his 
life. 

Early in January, 1835, he offered himself to the 
Board of the Freewill Baptist Foreign Mission 
Society as a candidate for missionary service in 
Orissa; Rev. David Marks, having previously learned 
his feelings on the subject, encouraged him to go 
into that field. After a careful examination as to 
his religious experience, literary qualifications, call 
to the ministry, especially his call to labor among 
the heathen, he was accepted as a candidate on pro- 
bation for three months. The result of the proba- 
tion, during which time he studied at Parsonsfield 



198 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

Seminary, was perfectly satisfactory to the board, 
and he was accepted as the first missionary of the 
Society to India. 

May 4, 1835, he was married to Miss Clementina 
Pierce, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, who became 
the faithful partner of his missionary toils, sufferings, 
and success. The next month he was ordained, dur- 
ing the session of the New Hampshire Yearly Meet- 
ing in Lisbon. It was a time of unusual interest 
and holy joy, and never before had such a scene 
been witnessed by the Freewill Baptists. The 
audience consisted of about three thousand persons, 
among whom were many ministers, including Rev. 
Amos Sutton, and Rev. Dr. Cox of the Calvinistic 
Church, London. The latter preached an able or- 
dination sermon, which, with the other services, 
deeply stirred the feelings of many persons in the 
large assembly. At the close of the afternoon serv- 
ices, nearly one thousand persons pledged themselves, 
by raising their hands, to pray for and assist in sup- 
porting the new missionary and his wife. 

The 22d of September, 1835, they sailed for In- 
dia, and arrived at Calcutta the 5th of the follow- 
ing February. About the 1st of May, 1836, at the 
request of the General Baptist missionaries, Mr. 
Noyes took charge of the English school at Cuttack. 
This was gratifying to his wife, as she was desirous 
to teach in connection with her other labors. Rev. 
Jeremiah Phillips, who went out in the same vessel 
with Mr. Noyes, took charge of the bazaar schools 
connected with the General Baptist mission in Bal- 
asore. They remained at these stations, studying 



ELI NOYES, D. D. 199 

the language, and laboring in connection with the 
General Baptists till December 12, 1836. It having 
been mutually decided that the interests of the cause 
could be better promoted by the Freewill Baptist 
missionaries occupying a station of their own, they 
set out on that day for Sumbhulpore, which had been 
selected as their new field of labor, and is situated 
two hundred and fifty miles from Cuttack. 

Their bright hopes of usefulness at their new lo- 
cation were, in a few months, succeeded by dark 
scenes of suffering and disappointment. By some 
means their remittances from home were delayed so 
long as to greatly embarrass them in relation to 
building, and distress them with fears of a failure 
of being supported. Added to this painful state of 
things, they were, one by one, attacked by an Indian 
fever before they were settled in their new, hastily- 
built, and insufficient abode. They were their own 
doctors; and, ill as they were, mostly their own 
nurses. Surrounded with the heathen, far from 
friends, destitute of many of the comforts of life, 
and prostrated with disease, their situation was 
gloomy and distressing beyond the comprehension 
of all who, in sickness, are surrounded with kind 
friends and earthly comforts. On one occasion,, 
while he was very ill, Mr. Noyes called his wife 
from her sick bed to bleed him ! For a season 
they were both prostrated together, while the groans 
of the husband answered the groans of the wife, 
which doleful notes of pain and gloom were almost 
the only sounds they heard. Only one European 
family resided in the place; but they were very 



200 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

kind to the missionaries, and rendered them all the 
assistance in their power. This, however, was but 
a trifle compared with their sufferings and neces- 
sities. 

During their residence of less than one year at 
Sumbhulpore, Mr. Phillips lost his wife, and Mr. 
and Mrs. Noyes a daughter of sixteen months old. 
Before their health was wholly restored, they left 
the scene of their sufferings and sorrows, and re- 
turned to Balasore, with stricken hearts and still 
emaciated frames. They had previously left this 
place with pleasant prospects before them, as Naomi 
left her home, and, like her, they returned, drinking 
the bitter waters of bereavement. Their desire for 
usefulness among the heathen was not destroyed 
by their deep afflictions ; and the advantages at 
Balasore, better suited to their distressed condition, 
enabled them soon to begin anew their labors for 
the benighted around them. 

Mr. Noyes made rapid progress in the language, 
became a ready and able preacher and disputant, and, 
for some time, encouraging results attended his mis- 
sionary efforts. His bright prospects were, however, 
at length beclouded by attacks of dysentery, which, 
in the end, assumed a chronic type. He struggled 
hard and nobly for a considerable time against this 
enemy of his usefulness ; but, feeling that he was 
sorely wounded and unable to maintain the conflict 
longer, he reluctantly left the field, and returned to 
his native land, which he reached in the fall of 
1841. 

On parting with the Christians and children in 



201 

Balasore, their crying was so loud that he was ob- 
liged to leave them and flee into a private room. 
On his leaving the station several of them followed 
him about a mile, when he was compelled to beseech 
them to return home. The parting scene was pain- 
ful, not only on account of the sadness it caused the 
missionaries and those under their care, but because 
it greatly weakened the strength of the mission. 
"With a sad heart and anxious mind, Mr. O. R. 
Bacheler took charge of the work that Mr. Noyes 
had so well begun, and was enabled to carry it for- 
ward effectually till his wife's illness obliged him 
to leave it in the hands of Mr. R. Cooley, whose 
labors were untiring and successful. 

Soon after Mr. Noyes's arrival in this country, he 
took an agency for the Society, and succeeded well 
in raising funds. After a season spent in this way, 
he left the work, choosing rather to locate than to 
travel longer among the churches. He was, for 
some time, a member of the Executive Committee, 
and took much interest in its proceedings. He 
often expressed a willingness to return to Orissa; 
but, on account of the tendency to the complaint 
that drove him from his field of labor there, the 
committee thought it not advisable for him to ex- 
pose himself again to a climate so unfavorable to 
those predisposed to that disorder, dysentery. 

On retiring from his agency, he labored for a 
season as a minister of the small church and con- 
gregation in Hallowell, Maine. From that place he 
went to Lynn, Massachusetts, where he remained for 
a season, when he accepted an invitation to take 



202 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

charge of the church in Boston, which was then in 
a feeble state, under the patronage of the Home 
Mission Society. Through his able and energetic 
efforts at that important and responsible station, 
the church and Society were soon enabled to sustain 
themselves, and, consequently, asked nothing more 
from the Society, under whose patronage he com- 
menced his labors in Boston. After remaining 
there a few years he went to North Scituate, where 
he preached to the church for a season. On closing 
his labors in North Scituate, he was invited to be- 
come the pastor of the Eoger Williams Church in 
Providence, Rhode Island. His labors, as pastor of 
that church and congregation, were very useful for 
some time. The meeting-house was soon insufficient 
to accommodate all who wished to sit under his 
ministry, and galleries were erected in the house to 
make room for such as could not obtain seats be- 
low. His prosperity there continued but a few 
years, when troubles arose, his health failed, and 
his pastoral labors were suspended, never to be re- 
sumed. 

In 1847, he, with Rev. Jonathan Woodman, was 
elected by the General Conference as a deputation 
to visit the General Baptists in England. In 1848, 
he attended to the duties of his appointment, and 
was well received among those to whom he was 
sent. He spent several months in England, traveled 
considerably, visited Scotland and Ireland, and often 
spoke to good acceptance at religious gatherings. 
During his absence he purchased rare, costly, and 
valuable books, which were subsequently of great 



ELI NOYES, D. D. 203 

service to him in some important parts of his 
studies. 

In some branches his education was thorough, 
while it was quite deficient in others. Few persons 
of his advantages exceeded him in a knowledge of 
languages ; and he was able as a theologian, a lec- 
turer, and a writer. His doctorate was obtained by 
his friends, who purposely kept their intentions 
secret till after the degree was conferred. Nothing 
had been previously said to him on the subject, and, 
when the person who was solely the means of pro- 
curing the title, addressed him as D. D., he sup- 
posed it was merely a joke. 

He was constitutionally inclined to consumption, 
and, for several years, his symptoms had, at times, 
indicated that the wasting disease would ultimately 
be fully developed, and bring him to the grave. 
For a year or two he was unable to attend to pas- 
toral duties, and it seemed evident that his end could 
not be distant. In this debilitated state he went 
to Lafayette, Indiana, where his brother-in-law, Mr. 
M. D. Pierce, had generously provided a home for 
him and his family. He died the 10th of Sep- 
tember, 1854. His end was peaceful, and he felt 
that he was " safe in the hand of a covenant God." 

He was assidious in his literary pursuits, which 
he did not relinquish till some time after the state 
of his health demanded a respite from his too close 
attention to books. "A Hebrew Header ;" " Strength 
of Hindooism ;" " Lectures on the Truth of the 
Bible ;" and two or three sermons, were published 



204 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

before his death; and several Reviews, Sermons, 
Lyceum Lectures, etc., were left in manuscript. 

Notwithstanding his studious habits, he was social, 
pleasant, and interesting among his friends. His 
enunciation was good, his style perspicuous, and his 
sermons instructive, while he was fluent, but not 
boisterous, as a speaker. His attachments and aver- 
sions were strong, and, consequently, as he practiced 
but little concealment, he had friends and enemies 
of kindred feelings. Of the correctness of his own 
opinions, he was usually very confident, — sometimes 
so much so as to seem to forget that it was possible 
for those who dissented from his views to be in the 
right, and he in an error. Hence, his reputation some- 
times suffered on account of what others regarded 
as impudence in him, while he considered it only as 
carelessness. More circumspection and deference to 
the opinions and feelings of others, would, at times, 
have been greatly to his advantage. Still he had 
many warm friends, by whom his memory will be 
affectionately cherished. 

On his grave-stone is inscribed : 

ELI NOYES, 

First Freewill Baptist Missionary 

To India, 

Died September 10, 1854, 

Aged 40. 



WILLIAM DICK. 205 

CHAPTEE XIX. 

WILLIAM DICK. 

When a man of political or martial renown dies, 
his deeds are not permitted to die with him. His 
exploits on the field, or his counsels in the halls of 
legislation, are recorded by a thousand pens, and 
find their way to every part of the land. Deeds, 
which had become quite forgotten, are raked up 
from the records of the past and sent forth to the 
world again, to excite the admiration, and call forth 
the praises of the multitude afresh. Trifling inci- 
dents of private or public life, which had no glory 
at the time they happened by reason of the glory 
of other deeds which excelled, and were not re- 
corded, are now put down with the " weightier 
matters " of history, to swell the " triumphs of his 
fame." This may all be right. Noble deeds and 
noble counsels should be recorded for the admira- 
tion and benefit of a grateful posterity, and poster- 
ity is not generally slow to render the " honor due." 

But have not the just no deeds of glory to be 
recorded, — deeds, it may be, unknown to the mass 
of the community, because quietly and unostenta- 
tiously performed, yet none the less important for 
that? No acts of faith, of charity, of mercy, of 
self-denial, which should be known to the church, 
that she may learn to render suitable praise to Him 
by whose grace they were performed ? Has the 
faithful servant of Christ nothing of this kind to 



206 EMINENT PEEACHEES. 

be recorded to his honor and God's glory? Yes, 
there are many such acts. God has recorded them 
in the book of his remembrance, and when he makes 
up his jewels, he will proclaim them to an as- 
sembled world. They may be forgotten here, — for 
the pious deeds of the faithful minister, or humble 
Christian, are not generally known, and if known, 
are not generally appreciated, — but there the cup 
of cold water given to a disciple in the name of 
Jesus, or any thing else done to one of the least 
of his brethren, either for or against, will come into 
the account. 

William Dick was born in the year 1812, in 
the village of Bathgate, Scotland. He was one of 
eleven children that came over to Canada when 
"William was about nine years of age. It is said 
that the parents were pious people, — members of 
the Presbyterian Church in Scotland, and that they 
trained up their children in the nurture and ad- 
monition of the Lord. They, with a number of 
others, purchased a township of land in Canada, and 
left their own country to take possession of their 
new home in the wilderness. 

When they reached Montreal, the father was 
drowned in the river St. Lawrence while bathing. 
The family were not aware of their loss until his 
clothes were found by the river-side, and were recog- 
nized as his by the children. His body was found 
soon after, When the painful intelligence was 
communicated to their mother she turned pale, and, 
in a few days, sunk under the weight of her grief 
into the grave. Thus, in the space of eight or nine 



WILLIAM DICK. 207 

days, this family of eleven children was, unexpect- 
edly, and, under the most trying circumstances, de- 
prived of the counsel, care, and protection of both 
parents, and left in a strange land among strangers, 
to look out for themselves. Not quite this; for 
God, with an unseen hand, shall guide this little 
flock, deprived of its earthly shepherd, through 
many a danger, though they may not know him. 

With heavy hearts these orphans continued their 
journey to the place of their destination. The 
country was new, and no kind friends or comfort- 
able houses awaited their arrival, so they put up 
tents in which to live, until more substantial hab- 
itations could be provided. They are now settled 
down in their temporary dwelling; let us look in 
upon them for a few moments. It is morning, — 
they have just moved back from their frugal break- 
fast, and are about ready for the labors of the day. 
The eldest brother, about nineteen years old, takes 
down the old Bible which father used to read, and 
turns to the chapter for the morning. This read, 
they all bow down before God, while the eldest 
commits the little group to God's protecting, guid- 
ing grace. That is a blessed sight, and those chil- 
dren, orphans though they be, yet God looks upon 
them, and will take care of them. 

Where did those children learn to look upward 
in an hour of trial, — to look upward to their 
heavenly Father? Those parents who have just 
been taken from them, taught them the excellent 
lessons, and they are of more value to them now 
than thousands of gold. See the effect of family 



208 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

religion, — a home altar, with a Bible upon it, where, 
regularly, morning and evening, ascend to God the 
heart's purest devotions. Had those parents erected 
no family altar, these children would have known 
nothing of its duties and privileges. 

There is one other circumstance respecting this 
family that is worthy of notice. They all had one 
purse, and whatever any one of them had, it was 
deposited with the common stock. And what is 
more remarkable still, as it is contrary to the na- 
tural selfishness of the human heart, whenever any 
one of the family needed money, the others were 
obliged to urge him to take what his wants required, 
rather than check his desire for too much. 

We must now take leave of this interesting 
family group, and follow the thread of William's 
history. All that could be learned of his younger 
years was, that he was in the daily habit of secret 
prayer. This might have been guessed, had it not 
been known. It is also said that he connected him- 
self with the Presbyterian Church ; but it is sup- 
posed he did not meet with a change of heart till 
after this event. 

He was, however, converted. The subject of bap- 
tism coming up for examination, he came to the 
conclusion that immersion was the only scriptural 
mode of baptism ; was baptized, and united with a 
Baptist church. The next thing we know of Mr. 
Dick is his attending school at the Hamilton Sem- 
inary, in the State of New York. About what 
time he commenced his labors as a gospel minister it 
is not known. It is probable, however, that, during 



WILLIAM DICK. 209 

his preparatory studies at Hamilton, he was engaged 
in preaching whenever opportunity offered, as we 
find, soon after his return from this institution, a 
revival breaking out under his labors, and he had 
the privilege of baptizing about seventy individuals. 
"We learn from this incident in his history that he 
had already been ordained ; but when or where can 
not be stated. 

Soon after this we find him at Hamilton College, 
pursuing a course of studies. We suppose he was 
diligent in the pnrsuit of knowledge, as he was 
about every thing else he took hold of. Some ac- 
count of his religious history, during this period of 
his life, would be interesting and instructive, but it 
is not at hand. After he left college he returned to 
Canada, where he and his brother had charge of an 
academy for about two years. He labored at the 
same time as a preacher of the gospel as he had op- 
portunity. 

The next time we meet with Mr. Dick is at New 
Haven, Connecticut, pursuing a course of theology. 
While there, he was not unmindful of his Master's 
cause. During his vacations he was out among the 
churches, assisting his brethren in the ministry, or 
preaching to some destitute church, visiting, at the 
same time, from house to house. He considered 
private visiting an important part of a minister's 
duty. He did not think the gospel minister could 
do all his duty in the pulpit. He visited much, 
and, when he visited, he did not spend his time in 
conversing upon the common topics of life, but the 
salvation of the soul was his theme,— Christ and 
18 



210 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

him crucified were held up before the sinner in the 
family as well as the pulpit. Many an aged pilgrim 
has been encouraged by his glowing descriptions of 
heaven, and many a young convert has been helped 
on his way by his representation of God's free 
grace, which is equal to every emergency. He im- 
itated Paul, who preached from house to house, and, 
we believe, it would be for the prosperity of Zion 
if he had more imitators in the ministry. 

After leaving New Haven he moved to Parma, 
New York, and became pastor of a church there. 
From Parma he w r ent to Brockport, in the same 
State, where he labored awhile. From Brockport 
he moved to Chepachet, and took charge of the 
Gloucester Church in Western Rhode Island Quar- 
terly Meeting. Here he remained one year. The 
committee appointed by the Yearly Meeting to in- 
quire into the propriety of establishing a meeting at 
Danielsonville, Connecticut, and, if it was thought 
expedient, to establish such a meeting, to select a 
minister to occupy the field, unanimously fixed upon 
Mr. Dick as the man qualified for this important 
charge. He accepted the call, and moved in that 
village some time in November,1852. 

Here he finished his work on earth; it was 
short, — only four months. Yet he accomplished 
much. Seldom has more been done in the same 
time by one man. He established a meeting where 
the Freewill Baptist name was hardly known, drew 
together a large and permanent congregation, and 
succeeded in edifying and benefiting his hearers. 
Never was a pastor more tenderly loved by his 



WILLIAM DICK. 211 

people than was he. Though he had been among 
them but four short months, and came there a 
stranger with a strange doctrine, yet he so won upon 
their affections and confidence, by his devotion to 
their spiritual interest, and by his zeal for the honor 
of his Master, that they loved him as a father. 

He left them almost as suddenly and unexpect- 
edly as his parents left him about thirty years be- 
fore. He was taken sick on Thursday, and the next 
Monday he was dead. His disease was erysipelas in 
the head. His suffering was very great most of the 
time ; yet he bore it like a saint. He was deprived 
of his reason during the last of his sickness, except 
a few lucid intervals, when he expressed an un- 
shaken confidence in God. "All is well," was the 
last sentence which fell from his lips. His ready 
spirit took its flight on Monday, March 7, 1853. 
The funeral services were attended on Wednesday, 
and a sermon preached on the occasion to a large 
and sympathizing audience. About twenty min- 
isters were in attendance, drawn together by their 
regard for the deceased and his afflicted family. 
He was forty-one years of age at his death, and 
left a wife and three children to mourn. 

A few thoughts on the peculiar traits of Mr. 
Dick's character will close this sketch. 

He possessed a very great amount of native en- 
ergy. This quality was seen in every thing he at- 
tempted. As soon as he decided to do a thing he was 
about it, and pursued it to the end without hesitat- 
ing. He was cautious and deliberate in his de- 
cisions ; but when the decision had been made, he 



212 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

was all energy until the object was obtained. This 
trait of character was very prominent in his preach- 
ing. His subject went through his head into his 
heart, and from his heart was thrown out upon his 
auditory with great force and power. His words 
did not fall upon the hearer's ear to return into the 
ear again ; but, like the ball from the rifle, they 
penetrated the outer organ, and sunk into the heart. 
No one could hear him and sleep; his whole soul 
was in his subject, and the most careless sinner 
would be interested in what he said. 

He was a deeply-pious man. He was not one 
that appeared devout for the respect it gained. He 
never dissembled, — a mask would not stay on him. 
He was at heart what he appeared to the eye. 
Pious talk was not cant with him, nor would any 
one who heard him think so. He spoke what he 
felt and what he was. Piety with him was not a gar- 
ment that could be put on and off as opportunity of- 
fered, and expediency demanded ; but was a part of 
the man, — something wrought into his very nature. 
He loved God, and, therefore, walked with him,— 
commenced with him in the closet, and his thoughts 
were with him by the way. There is much prayer- 
meeting and Sabbath-day piety at the present time, 
both in the ministry and membership, — a kind of 
piety which shines out under certain circumstances, 
but does not appear on the farm, in the work-shop, 
and in the family. Such was not Mr. Dick's piety. 
He carried his with him always, and it was a burn- 
ing and shining light. Neither was his religion of 
a gloomy cast, but of a lively, social kind. 



WILLIAM DICK. 213 

He was a great preacher. Some, perhaps, would 
not call him great; yet none would deny that he 
was good. His greatness as a preacher did not con- 
sist in the manner of his delivery; this was not 
good. His manner sometimes produced a kind of 
painful sensation, though it never disgusted. His 
greatness did not consist in commanding eloquence; 
for this he did not possess. He might be some- 
times eloquent on some particular occasion or sub- 
ject; but it did not exist in the man, and had no 
foundation in the soul. The greatness of his ser- 
mons consisted in their simplicity. He spoke com- 
mon words and common thoughts in a familiar 
manner. The child as well as the adult, the un- 
learned as well as the learned, could understand 
him. 

Again, he was a great preacher, because his 
preaching did great good. A man's greatness 
should be measured by the amount of good he 
does, and not by the amount of knowledge he pos- 
sesses. By this standard, some who are called lit- 
tle, when measured by* their attainments, will stand 
high above many of commanding intellect. Mr. 
Dick had intellect and culture of no ordinary kind. 
Yet, he was greater in the good which he did than 
in the scope of his intellectual attainments. 

He was a consecrated man. His affections, his 
intellect, his time, his influence, the whole man, was 
consecrated to the honor of his Savior. He had a 
taste for study ; but he never allowed it to inter- 
fere with the claims of the gospel. The great ques- 
tion with him was, how he could do the most good. 



214 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

This question once decided, he turned his whole 
mind in that direction regardless of other claims. 
Unlike many others of the present day, he did not 
stop to ask what would be thought of this, that, or 
the other measure ; it was enough for him that God 
required it. His consecration to God made him a 
man of faith, and his faith made him a man of 
prayer ; and all these together made him useful, 
good, and great. 



ALB ANUS K. M0ULT0N. 215 

CHAPTER XX. 

ALBANUS K . MOULTON. 

Albanus K. Moulton was born in Hatley, 
Canada, September 27, 1810. He was the son of 
Rev. Avery Moulton, who, in spite of misfortunes, 
and trials, and privations of a new country, accom- 
plished much good, and so trained and educated a 
large family as to leave in their lives a valuable 
legacy to the church and the world. Three of the 
sons were preachers of the gospel, and, together, 
have performed about one hundred and twenty 
years of faithful and successful ministerial work. 

Like others of the family, he was early converted 
to Christ, and an accident partially disqualifying 
him for manual labor, was the occasion of more 
schooling than was usually enjoyed by boys in his 
circumstances. He was thus well qualified for 
teaching, and especially in penmanship and com- 
mercial studies, and devoted some time to these em- 
ployments and to business. Not succeediug to his 
satisfaction either in making money or silencing his 
early convictions upon a call to the Christian min- 
istry, he found himself, in 1837, in a strange, and, 
at times, terrible suspense. Indecision was not na- 
tural to such a minS, and yet to decide right was 
not easy. 

But something must be done. In principle and 
purpose he was strongly anti-slavery, and would not 
labor, thought he, in that work, answer instead of 



216 EMINENT PKEACHERS. 

preaching the gospel ? Believing that, as a kind of 
itinerant teacher of penmanship and book-keeping, 
he might learn more of the practical workings of 
slavery, and then, through the press and public 
speeches, work effectually for that cause, he started 
from Conneaut, Ohio, for the slave plantations of 
the South. Within fifty miles he reached Mecca, 
just in time to attend the August term of the Ash- 
tabula Quarterly Meeting. Mr. Moulton was made 
a subject of special prayer in this meeting. His 
feelings, respecting the ministry, were well known. 
This was the turning point in his life. A congre- 
gation was soon found in Portage County, Ohio, 
from which other preachers were intentionally de- 
tained, and thus he was almost compelled to preach 
his first sermon. From this time he abandoned his 
Southern tour, and labored faithfully, growing in 
grace and knowledge, and increasing in strength 
and confidence. 

In New Lyme, at the October session of the Ash- 
tabula Quarterly Meeting, in 1837, he received his 
first Quarterly Meeting license. His membership 
was soon after removed to the Geauga Quarterly 
Meeting, where he labored earnestly and success- 
fully, generally in new fields, supporting himself in 
part by teaching. The next year, at the August 
session of the Geauga Quarterly Meeting, in Bur- 
ton, he was ordained to the gospel ministry. About 
this time a partner in his life's work was secured, 
whose spirit and qualifications relieved him of 
much of the despondency to which, at times, he was 
subject, and whose influence and assistance he often 



ALBANUS K. MOULTON. 217 

remarked, was, outside of divine grace, the principal 
source of his happiness and success. 

The three or four years spent in this Quarterly 
Meeting constituted a laborious but profitable period 
of his life. Many souls were converted, and two or 
three churches organized under his labors; and 
much general influence left for future usefulness. 

With his habits of study and close application, it 
was a period of discipline, — a kind of theological 
course for himself. In 1841, he was called to the 
Washington-street Church, of Dover, New Hamp- 
shire, where his labors were greatly blessed. An 
extensive revival was enjoyed, and the Society so 
encouraged that a house of worship was commenced, 
which was completed and paid for the year after he 
left. 

Early in 1843, there was a demand for a church 
in Portland, Maine, and, although the church in 
Dover was very unwilling to relinquish their pastor, 
the pressing demand at the former place and Mr. 
Moulton's qualifications for the work seemed to de- 
termine the line of duty, and he entered upon that 
new and important work. His skill in organizing 
and zeal in labor were successful, and very soon a 
good, self-supporting church and congregation, with 
a good Sabbath-school, choir, etc., were gathered. 

During his labors in Portland, a kind of eccle- 
siastical schism attracted some attention in New 
England, especially in Maine. He had, for some- 
time, been an assistant editor of the Morning Star, 
and his position, ability, and readiness for discus- 
sion naturally made him a leader in this contro- 
19 



218 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

versy, which was conducted with ability and ear- 
nestness, securing, of course, many enemies and 
much friendship, according to the relative position 
of individuals and their views respecting the nature 
and utility of the controversy. But he acted firmly 
and conscientiously, and, with hosts of his friends, 
believed to the last that his self-sacrificing efforts 
against secession and in behalf of church unity and 
integrity were the most important part of his work 
for his loved denomination. 

The church in Roxbury, Massachusetts, secured 
his services in 1848. Here an immediate revival 
interest and increase of the congregation, with other 
causes, excited more confidence and hopefulness 
upon the part of the people than in any previous 
field of his labors. But, in the midst of these high 
anticipations, and before they were fully realized, 
he was called to Lowell, Massachusetts, and, in spite 
of personal attachments and disappointed expecta- 
tions, very discouraging to a successor, the change 
was effected. 

By the failures of a former pastor and the efforts 
of a very noted if not notorious lawyer of Lowell, 
the church in that city had lost their house of wor- 
ship some years before, and, after worshiping so 
long in a hall, greatly needed a place of their own. 
An increasing religious interest and many additions 
gave such encouragement that the work was under- 
taken, and, with great exertion and much sacrifice, 
a good and convenient church was built. 

But, in this struggle of four or five years of the 
hardest labor of his life, health failed, and the 






ALB ANUS K. MOULTON. 219 

nervous system became so debilitated that pastoral 
labor was impracticable. He then retired to the 
prairies of Iowa, where, in manual labor and secu- 
lar business, health gradually improved, so that, 
after two or three years, he was able to preach 
moderately, and edit a weekly paper. Feeling able 
again to resume the pastoral work, in 1860, he ac- t 
cepted a call from the church at Great Falls, New 
Hampshire. Peculiar circumstances and some trials 
rendered this a trying field, demanding all the 
spirit and strength which a long rest had secured; 
but the toils were not fruitless, nor the labor lost. 

His more recent labors in Auburn, Maine ; Con- 
cord, New Hampshire; and Cleveland, Ohio; need 
no specific notice in this place. These churches 
were all too weak to render full support, or give 
such encouragement and assistance as a man in his 
situation needed, and, therefore, as a kind of mis- 
sionary, he toiled on with weakened nerves and 
feeble health, supporting his family in part with 
means secured by his western residence and by his 
pen. During his four years' residence in Cleveland, 
the embarrassing debt of the Society was paid, and 
the cause maintained ; but the larger additions, and 
the larger house for which he prayed and labored, 
were not secured. 

He naturally had a very strong constitution, full 
form, and powerful muscles, and such a fulcrum was 
necessary to the natural, happy, and most successful 
action of such a mind. These physical conditions 
were weakened years ago, leaving him at times de- 
pressed and desponding. With these symptoms and 



220 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

whitening hairs, he had come to feel a strong desire 
to provide a home and means for his family; and, 
a few months before his death, purchased a house 
and thirty-five acres of land at Linndale, about four 
miles west of Cleveland Post-office, with the hope 
of selling a portion so as to leave the remainder free 
for a home. 

But in this enterprise he never lost his interest in 
the great cause to which his life had been conse- 
crated. Immediately after removing to this new 
town, he organized a Sabbath -school, and com- 
menced regular meetings of worship, preaching 
every Sabbath until his death. 

The new interest needed an organ, and a Sabbath- 
school festival was held on the 19th of June, 1873, 
for this purpose. In returning from this last and 
benevolent work, — for remarks at which a brief 
preparation was found in his pocket, — in, company 
with his wife and youngest son, he had occasion to 
cross a railroad bridge over a deep, rocky ravine. 
It was a stone bridge, fifty feet high, with a double 
track, and about three feet of smooth stone outside 
the tracks. He was evidently walking upon this 
smooth space, which could be seen in outline by the 
dim light of the evening, which, however, was not 
clear enough to reveal the long end of one tie ex- 
tending about fifteen inches beyond all others. 
Probably the foot touched this projecting tie, and, 
without a word or a groan, he fell upon the rocks 
below, crushing the back of the head and shoulders, 
closing the day of life's work without twilight or 
pain. 



ALBAXUS K. MOULTOX. 221 

In that still evening hour, while all the stars 
were watching, and the angels waiting, the wife, 
holding the little son by the hand, heard that last 
step, the strange concussion in the deep ravine, 
asked the cause, but heard no answer, save the echo 
of her own trembling voice from the rocky vale. 
That ear that had so affectionately listened to her 
voice for a half century, was closed alike to the 
voice of love and alarm. The walking upon so 
narrow a space, at such a height in the night, and 
the fall without a single exclamation, were charac- 
teristic of his firmness ; and the smile upon the 
face, like sunshine in the night of others' gloom, 
was the natural expression of a pious soul which 
knew no fear, and which was always most trium- 
phant in the severest conflict. 

The funeral was attended on the 22d by Eevs. 
Anson Smyth and M. H. Abbey. While the body 
rests quiet in the beautiful Cleveland Cemetery and 
the soul in heaven, the wife, two sons, and two 
daughters, mourn a loss such as few families can 
suffer, and the church and the world suffer a loss 
not easily supplied. 

The world's welfare and every benevolent enter- 
prise were subjects of his regard and anxiety. He 
was a member of the church of Christ, possessing a 
true catholic spirit, but knowing how to be denom- 
inational without being sectarian. He was strictly 
denominational, loving the doctrines, the usages, and 
the institutions of the people of his early choice. 
For more than thirty years he was a regular writer 
of the Morning Star, and, for the most of that time, 



222 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

a member of the Executive Board of the Printing 
Establishment, or of the Missionary and Education 
Societies. His sharp pen had been felt in every 
part of the denomination, and upon almost every 
subject of public interest, so that the whole body, 
having known him long, feel his loss. 

He was a great reasoner, and, of course, a strong 
disputant; but he had a great heart, and knew how 
to discuss a question with earnestness and vehem- 
ence, even without disturbing the feeling of true 
Christian affection. So few understand the diifer- 
ence between pointed argument and personal reflec- 
tion, that he was often misunderstood and con- 
sidered severe, when his heart was all right, and the 
severity was only in his logic, which frequently al- 
lowed no escape. But no man was less artificial, 
less superficial, or more true in his friendship, and 
whoever enjoyed it had one solid rest in the shift- 
ing sands of the world's deceptive smiles. But 
eulogy is not our purpose, and there is no space for 
even the analization of character. 



ALLEN BROWN. 223 

CHAPTER XXI. 

ALLEN BROWN. 

Allen Brown was born in Providence, Rhode 
Island, March 31, 1788. Of the family where he 
spent his boyhood comparatively little is known ; 
but there is reason for believing it was not wanting 
in the great essentials of a true home. He early 
exhibited an activity of intellect, and won sympathy 
by his genial spirit and constant kindness of heart. 
He was sent to the best schools which the city at 
that time afforded, and profited by his privileges. , 
His associates were carefully selected with reference 
to their moral habits and influences. He was con- 
verted at an early age, and united with the First 
Congregationalist Church in Providence, then under 
the care of Rev. Mr. Wilson, whose memory is yet 
held sacred by not a few of its older members. 

At the close of his school-days he entered the 
hardware store of the late Gov. Jones as a clerk, 
and served him during the rest of his minority a 
most pleasant and honorable apprenticeship. After 
completing his mercantile training, he spent the 
years of 1810 and 1811 in Savannah, Georgia, en- 
gaged in business on his own account. Subse- 
quently returning to Providence, he embarked in 
the hardware business with a well-known and hon- 
orable partner, under the firm of Dyer & Brown. 
The business proved pleasant, and was steadily be- 
coming lucrative. But it was soon interrupted by 



224 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

a strong and growing conviction that his duty called 
him to the Christian ministry. His study of the 
Scriptures, and his inquiries, pressed in other di- 
rections, led to his acceptance of views of baptism, 
which separated him from his Congregationalist 
brethren, who gave him a cordial dismission, to 
unite with the First Baptist Church in his own 
city. 

He promptly dissolved his connection with sec- 
ular business, and entered upon a course of theolog- 
ical study at Philadelphia, under the supervision of 
Hev. Dr. Stoughton. Immediately on his gradua- 
tion he returned to Providence, and took the pas- 
toral charge of the Third Baptist Church, then just 
organized, and continued his labor in that sphere 
for six years, witnessing the conversion of many 
souls and the constant growth of the church in 
numbers and Christian strength. This was his 
first and last pastorate. He resigned his trusts, 
and never subsequently assumed them elsewhere, 
though several times invited and urged to do so. 

His views, from the first, were decidedly Armin- 
ian rather than Calvinistic, and, when the council as- 
sembled to examine him with reference to ordina- 
tion, he unfolded to them his theological convictions 
and sentiments with his characteristic frankness. 
He was ordained, though not without some hesita- 
tion, and felt that he was not always treated with 
proper confidence and sympathy by some of the 
brethren who assisted in setting him apart to the 
sacred office. On resigning his pastorate he also 
removed his church connection to the Freewill 



ALLEN BROWN. 225 

Baptist Church at Olneyville, of which Rev. Mar- 
tin Cheney was pastor. Of this church he re- 
mained a member till death. He had assisted at 
Mr. Cheney's ordination, and their common ex- 
periences, mutual esteem, and free and friendly in- 
tercourse, united the two hearts in strong bonds 
and Christian sympathy. 

On the opening of the Dexter Asylum, he was at 
once chosen chaplain, and preached regularly on the 
morning of each Sabbath to the poor and unfortu- 
nate who were gathered within its walls. For 
more than twenty years he continued to serve in 
this capacity with great pleasure to himself and to 
all concerned, relinquishing his labors there only 
when his last sickness had absolutely shut him 
away, and, yielding to the necessity with a painful 
reluctance, which he did not care to disguise. He 
preached more or less on other occasions, though, 
for some years, his labors as a minister of the gos- 
pel were restricted by his advancing age and in- 
creasing infirmities. For many years he was well 
known to. the readers of the Horning Star by his 
contributions in poetry and prose, over the signa- 
ture, "A. B." 

For nearly a year previous to his death he was 
mostly confined to his house, and his sickness was 
of such a nature— disease of the heart — that his 
sufferings were often severe and trying, but he bore 
them with calmness and resignation till death gave 
him a release, at the advanced age of seventy-two. 

He was never married, and left behind him no 
near relatives, — some nieces and a nephew being 



226 EMINENT PREACHERS. * 

the only survivors of his immediate family. By 
industry and prudence he accumulated some prop- 
erty, from which he dispensed with a thoughtful 
and catholic liberality while he lived, and distrib- 
uted his possessions among a considerable number 
of public and charitable institutions and his surviv- 
ing relatives, by testamentary bequests. To the 
Freewill Baptist Foreign Mission Society he be- 
queathed the sum of five hundred dollars. 

Mr. Brown's character is one which would win 
esteem and sympathy wherever kindness of heart 
and high moral excellence are respected. His na- 
ture was distinguished for its frankness and trans- 
parency. What he seemed to be he was. He shone 
by the aid of no borrowed light. What he ap- 
peared in one place he showed himself in another. 
He assumed nothing for mere display ; wore no 
badges to arrest attention, and asked and willingly 
accepted no deference beyond what his own solid 
merits and radical qualities merited. 

He preserved, even to the last, the simplicity and 
freshness of feeling which is supposed to be the 
peculiar possession of childhood. Beauty, whether 
appearing in nature, art, or life, never appeared 
without recognition, nor appealed to him without 
awakening responses in his heart. He bore about 
him a most genial and sunny spirit, which helped 
to make the circle where he moved full of pleasant- 
ness, and lightened the load which his friends were 
bearing. His friendships were remarkable for their 
tenderness, constancy, and strength. He did not 
multiply intimate associates ; but whoever was really 



ALLEN BROWN. 227 

taken to his heart found an affection at once warm, 
and tender, and thoughtful. He was sparing of 
compliments ; but every appreciative word he ut- 
tered ran over with meaning, and the quiet deeds 
of love which he performed were always charged 
with affection. 

His temperament was quiet and even, his man- 
ners modest and dignified, and he most admirably 
combined conscientiousness with charity, and a true 
humility with a thorough self-respect. His sense 
of honor was quick and strong, and the smallest 
interest and simplest rights of others were things 
too sacred to be trifled with. Nobody would have 
thought of accusing him of egotism or a dull con- 
science, when he said, on his dying couch : " There 
is no person, living or dead, whom I am conscious 
of having intentionally or willingly injured." What 
would seem presumption on most human lips was 
but the utterance of a simple fact in his ease, fully 
warranted by his faithful life, and attested by the 
retrospect. 

His piety was deep, genial, constant, unostenta- 
tious, and beautiful. It saturated his whole char- 
acter and influenced his whole conduct. It shone 
in him with a serene and steady light, like that of 
stars, and its influence fell on others as summer 
dews upon the fields. It was full of tenderness, 
trust, and yearning. Not that it wanted solidity or 
was incapable of heroism, but it showed itself 
chiefly in a loving adoration of Christ, and a long- 
ing to lift needy, and smitten, and wearied souls 
up into the fellowship of God, where midnight 



228 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

gives way to morning, and the heaviest burdens 
grow light. He was a minister under the dispensa- 
tion of grace rather than of law, and would have 
coveted John's place on the bosom of Christ, rather 
than the post of Gideon, sending confusion into the 
Philistine camp with battle cry and breaking of 
pitchers. 

His Christian work was effective through its con- 
stancy and consistency. There was no undoing of 
the service of yesterday by the indiscretions of to- 
day. The deeds of one period were in keeping 
with those of every other. The tasks of one day 
pieced naturally on to the tasks of that which went 
before and that which followed it. He scarcely 
ever did a striking thing. No single service car- 
ried a large power into life, or guaranteed a wide 
success. His Christian efficiency was the product 
of a perpetual and long-continued faithfulness to his 
Master and to the interests of men. 

His spirit was eminently catholic and apprecia- 
tive. Though wedded to Arminian views and Con- 
gregational church polity, by strong convictions and 
sympathies, he felt a deep interest in whatever was 
manifestly working in aid of true religion, and took 
every earnest Christian at once to his confidence, 
and bade him Godspeed with a spontaneous move- 
ment of the heart. 

His tastes were refined and healthy, his intellec- 
tual attainments were respectable, and his apprecia- 
tion of ripe scholarship and vigorous intellectual 
life was hearty and grateful. His reading was 
select and his studies critical, and, notwithstanding 



ALLEN BROWN. 229 

his estimate of himself was low, the best scholars 
of the city found his companionship both pleasant 
and stimulating, while his moral and religious char- 
acter begot the deepest respect in every sphere 
where he moved. He had cemented strong friend- 
ships in the very highest circles of society, and he 
was followed to the grave by not a few of the cit- 
izens whose names are eminent far beyond the 
boundaries of the State. His memory is peculiarly 
fragrant, and every tongue that speaks his name 
pays a tribute to him which not many men have 
purchased. Emphatically he was " a good man/' 
and, after having " served his generation by the will 
of God, he fell on sleep and was gathered to his 
fathers." Over his grave we may well pause to re- 
peat, "Blessed are the dead who die irLthe Lord." 



230 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

CHAPTER XXII. 

ELISHA M. TOBIE. 

Elisha M. Tobie was born in New Gloucester, 
Maine, May 11, 1811. Both his parents died when 
he was very young, and he was left an orphan. 
When eight years old he went to live with Deacon 
Nelson, in New Gloucester, and continued there 
until he was fifteen ; after which he spent sometime 
as clerk in a store in Minot Corner, and then went 
to Chesterville, where one of his brothers resided. 
He continued in this place most of the time till 
after he began to preach. In August, 1830, there 
was a glorious revival of religion in Chesterville. 
The first religious impressions which Mr. Tobie 
mentions in his journal were about the commence- 
ment of this revival. 

He says, under date of August 16, 1830: "Went 
to the meeting-house, and heard Elder Curtis preach 
from John ix, 27. There is quite an excitement in 
this vicinity, and I do think it is real. August 18th, 
went to prayer-meeting last evening, and they had 
quite an interesting one, — I should like to share 
with them. I do not doubt the reality of it. It 
meets with some opposition ; but it avails nothing. 
August 19th, there is something that is not right 
with me. Am persuaded that I must have religion, 
or be unhappy in a future state. It will not be 
amiss for me to write my feelings. I feel as though 
there was something in my breast striving with 



ELISHA M. TOBIE. 231 

something else. I do sincerely hope that the good 
Spirit, as I trust it is, will overcome the devil. I 
have of late been a leader in sin ; I am determined 
to seek religion. 

"August 24th, felt my dependence on God; went 
to prayer-meeting; felt better; and thought, if not 
deceived, that I had found mercy in God. August ' 
26th, I am in a strange situation. Sometimes think 
that I have never felt the love of God ; but I do 
pray that God would have mercy. It would be just 
in him if he should cast me off forever, considering 
the many convictions I have had ; but I hope he 
will have mercy on my soul. August 30th, feel my 
utter dependence on God; hope I have experienced 
a change of heart. My feelings are beyond descrip- 
tion. 

" September 1st, feel to-day as though the Lord 
was with me. I do believe he is. Never did I feel 
so happy ; I feel as if I wanted to i praise the Lord 
with my whole heart for his mercy toward me/ ; ' 
In this state of mind he continued, with, some short 
seasons in which he was distressed with doubts and 
fears, for several weeks, witnessing, to those around 
him, the reality of the religion of his Savior. On 
the 12th of October he was baptized by Rev. Silas 
Curtis, and united with the Freewill Baptist Church 
in Chesterville. Soon after he was baptized he had 
an impression that it would be his duty to preach 
the gospel. He manifested much anxiety for the 
salvation of sinners ; and, for several months, he 
was deeply engaged in the cause, and frequently ex- 
horted his fellow-sinners to seek the Savior. 



232 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

He improved some part of the next three years in 
attending school at Readfield Seminary, teaching, 
etc. He, also, during part of this time, was very 
low and cold in religion. For considerable time he 
took no part in meetings of social worship; yet, it 
is believed, that he always preserved a regular, 
moral life. He manifested a great thirst for knowl- 
edge; and he obtained a good English education. 
Sometime in the latter part of 1833, or the first of 
1834, he was revived in his mind, and again became 
engaged in the cause of his divine Master. He 
often deeply regretted, even to the day of his death, 
that he ever departed from the Lord. He often 
said that it appeared to him that those three years 
of his life were almost like lost time. At one 
time he said: "How much more good I might have 
done if I had never backslidden. " Soon after he 
was reclaimed he commenced preaching, and the 
Lord blessed his labors. August 23, 1834, he writes 
as follows: "At Quarterly Meeting, in Wilton, the 
brethren saw fit, on examination, for me to improve 
my gift in public. What an important stand is 
this! How insufficient I feel ! Lord, help me to be 
so affected, so humbled, that I may never wound the 
precious cause of my blessed Kedeemer." 

During the summer and autumn of 1834, there 
was a very interesting revival in Chesterville, the 
subjects of which were principally youth and chil- 
dren. Mr. Tobie had a great attachment to the 
converts, and manifested much anxiety for their 
prosperity. August 28th, he writes: "Went and 
attended a meeting this evening in Chesterville, and 



• ELISHA M. TOBIE. 233 

had a very interesting and happy meeting. No 
tongue can tell the love and anxiety which I have 
for these happy converts. May the Lord keep them, 
as in the hollow of his hand, and suffer no harm to 
befall them." He spent the most of his time dur- 
ing the remainder of the year in Chesterville, Wil- 
ton, and the adjoining towns. His health for some- 
time had been very delicate. He was severely 
afflicted with dyspepsia. His lungs were very weak, 
so that, for several weeks, in September and Oc- 
tober, he was unable to preach. September 15th, he 
writes : " Quite unwell all day, and threatened, I 
suppose, with a fever. Ah, how little know they, 
who enjoy the blessings of health, how highly they 
are favored! O Lord ! teach me the measure of my 
days, that I may apply my heart unto wisdom I" 

" September 16th, was unable to sit up but little; 
but, I believe, while I am feeble in body, I can feel 
some of the presence of my Savior, and feel to put 
my trust in him. I am peculiarly anxious for the 
young converts, and think my anxiety is greater for 
them than for the unconverted. Why it is so I can 
not tell ; but it has been the case almost ever since 
I thought God reclaimed my wandering steps." In 
consequence of his poor state of health, he often 
suffered great depression of spirit. He says at one 
time: " Returned to Wilton, in the forenoon, in a 
dull state of mind. Oh, how troubles weigh me 
down ! Lord, help me to burst through and enjoy 
thy presence as in days past." 

In March, 1835, he visited his friends in New 
Gloucester and Portland. During the summer and 
20 



234 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

autumn of this year he labored a considerable part 
of the time with the first church in Lewiston, and 
his labors were blest. The church was revived, 
wanderers reclaimed, and sinners converted to God. 
September 3d, he was ordained in Chesterville, re- 
specting which, he wrote the following : " In the 
afternoon this poor boy — this unworthy dust — was 
set apart to the holy work of the ministry, by the 
laying on of hands. Sermon by Elder Curtis ; 
prayer by Elder Foster ; charge by Elder Chaney ; 
and right hand of fellowship by Elder Keene, — a 
very solemn time to me. Now, I pray that God, 
who stood by me when my dear father and mother 
were laid in the grave, who kept me in childhood, 
converted my soul, and gave me to feel that he was 
my friend and father, would keep me from wound- 
ing his cause, bless my labors, and finally bring me 
safe beyond temptations, trials, and afflictions." 
Immediately after his ordination he went to Lewis- 
ton, and baptized a number of happy converts. 

Although he was a pious and devoted young man, 
yet, in his moments of depression, he sometimes 
doubted his acceptance with God. He says at one 
time : " To-day I am quite gloomy in mind. Often- 
times I have fears that I never sought the Lord 
with all my heart. Lord, search me and try me. 
Create my heart entirely new. If ever I am saved, 
it must be by grace through the merits of Jesus 
Christ. I sometimes fear that I shall one day find 
that I have missed the mark. Blessed Savior, for- 
bid that, after having preached to others, I myself 
should be a cast-away !" 



ELISHA M. TOBIE. 235 

He always, until his last sickness, manifested a 
great desire to live till old age. He has often said 
that he could not endure the thought of dying 
while he was young. This was not so much on ac- 
count of his being afraid to die ; but he wanted to 
enjoy good health and live long, to blow the gospel 
trumpet, and win souls to Christ. He seemed to 
take a holy delight in sounding free salvation. Oc- 
tober 14th, he writes : " I am now in the enjoyment 
of as good health as I have been for more than a 
year and a half. I have, if not deceived, a toler- 
able degree of peace; but I can not look into the 
grave-yard with all that pleasure I could desire. 
Lord, give me to feel prepared to go at any mo- 
ment. Baptize me with the Holy Ghost, and fill 
my soul with hallowed fire." Notwithstanding his 
desire to live, he appeared to have a presentiment 
that his days on earth were few. He says : " Oc- 
tober 2 2d, time with me is short. O Lord! prepare 
me to meet my God whenever he shall call for me ! 
Saturday, November 14th, was quite unwell ■ but 
walked, however, to the corner and back. If it be 
thy will, O Lord, I pray thee deliver me from my 
complaints, restore unto me the joys of thy salva- 
tion, and prepare me to speak to the people on the 
morrow!" 

In the course of this year he traveled and 
preached in different parts of the Bowdoin and 
Farmington Quarterly Meetings. In the winter of 
1836, he taught a school in Chesterville. In the 
spring and summer following he w T as engaged in 
visiting and preaching with the destitute churches 



236 EMINENT PREACHEJRS. 

in the Farmington Quarterly Meeting, under the 
direction of the Mission Society in that Quarterly 
Meeting. But he constantly labored under great 
and distressing infirmities of body. In the autumn 
of this year he preached half of the time with the 
church in Fayette, and the other half in various 
other places. 

In January, 1837, he went to Hallowell, and soon 
after took the pastoral charge of the church which 
had recently been organized in that place. His 
labors were successful and satisfactory to the people 
of his charge. Souls were converted under his min- 
istry, and he had the privilege of leading quite a 
number of happy converts into the watery grave. 
During his labors in that place the church increased 
from twenty to fifty members. He was much at- 
tached to the flock over which the Holy Ghost had 
made him overseer; and they, in return, were much 
attached to their beloved pastor. He constantly 
labored, as much as his health would permit, for the 
advancement of the church in spirituality and holi- 
ness. 

In October he was reduced to a very low state by 
the loss of blood, which was occasioned by the ex- 
traction of a tooth. He was unable to preach for 
several weeks. In November he commenced preach- 
ing again, and preached every Sabbath till the 1st 
of April, 1838. At this time he raised blood from 
his lungs, and began to fail very fast. He preached 
his last sermon the first day of April, from Gal- 
atians vi, 14 : " But God forbid that I should glory, 
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by 



ELISHA M. TOBIE. 237 

whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the 
world." 

He was soon after confined to the house, and could 
only speak in a low whisper. At the first interview 
which a friend had with him, after he was confined, 
he burst into tears, and said : " The physician has 
stated that I shall never be able to preach again,' 
even if I should live a number of years !" It 
seemed to grieve his heart to think he would never 
preach again. He said that he wanted to be recon- 
ciled to the will of God ; " but must I," said he, 
" leave the gospel field at this early hour of my 
life?" He was told that there were other ways in 
which he might be useful to the church, even if he 
should never be able to preach. 

He soon became perfectly resigned to the will of 
his heavenly Father, and his soul was calm, peace- 
ful, and happy, even while his body was in excru- 
ciating pain. He continued for a number of weeks, 
patiently waiting for the arrival of the welcome 
messenger of death to bear his spirit to the man- 
sions of bliss. He would frequently say : " Oh ! 
pray for me that my patience may hold out till 
death comes!" On the evening before he died he 
said to his attendant, in whose house he was sick : 
" I shall not live till morning, and I want you 
should agree not to leave the room until I am 
dead." He lived till about midnight. He yielded 
up the ghost without a struggle or a groan. This 
was on the 29th of August, 1838. Thus lived and 
died a devoted servant of Jesus. 

On the 31st his remains were carried to the 



238 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

Methodist meeting-house, when a discourse was de- 
livered by Eev. Silas Curtis, from Psalm cii, 23, 
24. There was not a single relative of the deceased 
at the funeral. He had three brothers and one sis- 
ter. One brother, at this time, was confined to his 
bed with a broken limb, and his sister laid at the 
door of death, in a consumption. The other brothers 
and relatives were at so great a distance that it was 
impracticable for them to be present. After the dis- 
course a procession was formed. Four ministers 
walked as pall-bearers, and the church of which 
Mr. T. had been pastor, followed as mourners. 
These, with many of the congregation who followed, 
made a long procession, which marched with solemn 
pace to the house appointed for all the living. 

Mr. Tobie was endowed, by nature, with more 
than ordinary talents. He possessed a quick, dis- 
cerning mind, a sound judgment, and a very strong 
memory. He was a great lover of system and good 
order. His manners were modest and unassuming. 
In his deportment he was sober, grave, and reserved. 
As a Christian, he was an example for believers, a 
pattern of piety, and stood as a way-mark to heaven. 
As a minister, he was devoted to his work, and 
faithful in his calling. 

He was a decided advocate of reform, and all the 
benevolent enterprises of the day. His soul was 
fired with the spirit of missions, and the love of 
immortal souls. Those who were most intimately 
acquainted with him best knew his worth. The 
noble powers and faculties of his mind, which were 
struggling to expand and exhibit themselves to 



ELISHA M. TOBIE. 239 

human view, were often, in a great measure, be- 
numbed and paralyzed by the withering hand of 
bodily disease, under which he almost constantly 
labored. On this account many, who were strangers 
to him, were liable to form an erroneous opinion of 
his real talents. 

In reviewing the preceding biography, we find 
that there are four important periods in Mr. Tobie's 
history, which occurred within a few days of the 
same time in the year. He experienced religion 
August 24, 1830; was licensed to preach August 23, 
1834 ; was ordained September 3, 1835 ; and he 
closed his labors on earth August 29, 1838. 



240 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

FREDERICK MOULTON. 

Frederick Moulton was born in Tamworth, 
Carroll County, New Hampshire, October 12, 1816. 
His parentage and boyhood must be passed over 
without remark, for want of information, as must 
several other subjects related to his life. Like most 
who were born in country places nearly fifty years 
ago, young Frederick was able to attend only such 
common schools as were kept in that day, which 
were generally short, and often inefficient. Not- 
withstanding this disadvantage, his improvement in 
subsequent years made him acceptable as a speaker. 
Like many others in this respect, he was more able 
to control the minds of an audience, and conse- 
quently to benefit them, than some who were well 
educated. This shows that, with a thorough edu- 
cation added to his zeal, piety, and fluency of speech, 
he would have ranked among the able ministers of 
the day ; for, notwithstanding his early disadvan- 
tages, he probably became one of the best and 
strongest preachers in the Freewill Baptist Denom- 
ination. His success in the ministry shows what 
industry and faithfulness will enable those to do 
who are not blessed with the advantages of a good 
education in early life. 

At the age of eighteen years, young Frederick 
was converted in Dexter, Maine. In 1835, the 
year following his conversion, he was baptized in 



FREDERICK MOULTON. 241 

that town by Rev. Henry Drew, Methodist, there 
being then no Freewill Baptist church in that 
place. He subsequently joined the Freewill Bap- 
tist church in Meredith Village, New Hampshire. 
He was married to Miss Lydia Brown, of Tam- 
worth, New Hampshire, November 6, 1838. 

In May, 1842, he received license from the Lis- 
bon Quarterly Meeting to preach the gospel. Janu- 
ary 6,1843, he was ordained at Bath, New Hampshire, 
probably by a council appointed by that Quarterly 
Meeting. Soon after this event, he accepted a call 
to become the pastor of the church in Haverhill, 
New Hampshire, where he labored three years. 
" Meantime," he writes, " I preached a small part 
of the time with the churches in Benton, Bath, and 
Warren." After leaving Haverhill, he preached nine 
months to the second church in Corinth, Vermont. 
From that place he went to East Randolph, Ver- 
mont, where he preached three years. He then 
went to Northwood, New Hampshire, and was pas- 
tor of the church there a year and a half. Thence 
he went to Hampton, New Hampshire, where he had 
the care of the church eighteen months. His next 
pastoral charge was in South Berwick, Maine, where 
he remained about two years. 

In Northwood, Hampton, South Berwick, and 
perhaps some other places, the churches were revived 
and sinners were converted under his labors. Dur- 
ing his residence in South Berwick, his wife, whose 
health had been rather poor for some time, was sud- 
denly taken away by death, Her decease was not 
only an affliction to him and the three surviving 
21 



242 EMINENT PKEACHEKS. 

children, but it saddened the hearts of the congre- 
gation who had, not long previously, been called to 
mourn the death of their pastor, Eev. William 
Johnson, and also that of his wife. In September, 
1853, Mr. Moulton was married to Miss Hannah 
George, of Weare, New Hampshire. 

On resigning his pastorate in South Berwick, he 
accepted an invitation to become pastor of the 
church in West Lebanon, Maine. He entered upon 
the duties of his office there in August, 1855, where 
he labored faithfully and successfully till he finished 
his course. Under his ministry in West Lebanon, 
two precious revivals were enjoyed, and the church 
received an accession of forty members, mostly by 
baptism. 

Frequent changes in the pastoral relatipn are among 
the greatest evils in the Freewill Baptist Denomi- 
nation. In many instances these changes are almost 
as rapid as the dissolving views of a panorama, and 
to some as delightful, though their tendency is often 
almost ruinous. In the present state of things 
among the churches, frequent pastoral changes 
must occur, however distressing and ruinous they 
are. This evil arises to a considerable extent from 
the neglect of ministers to devote their time to 
study, — a defect which is often owing to their 
early lack of educational training, and which can 
be remedied only by close and prayerful application. 
While this is true of ministers, it is equally true that 
these changes are often caused by a few restless and 
excitable persons, generally church members, who 
constitute a class something like David's four hun- 



FREDERICK MOULTON. 243 

dred "discontented" and disaffected followers at 
the cave of Adullum. In some cases ministers, no 
doubt, stay too long with their people; but instances 
of this kind are far less frequent than premature 
changes. 

It has been shown that Mr. Moulton preached 
but a short time in a place, and it is probable that 
most of his removals were against the wishes of 
the people. When ministers properly leave their 
flocks with the hope of being more useful elsewhere, 
as it is presumed he did, they should be commended; 
but, when influenced by the promise of a larger salary 
and other equally selfish motives, they take the over- 
sight of God's flock for filthy lucre, and love the 
wages of unrighteousness, as did Balaam, they will 
have their reward in money and worldly honor, but 
without God's approval. 

In April, 1854, the " minutes " of the deceased 
showed that he had then baptized ninety-eight per- 
sons. Others were subsequently added to this num- 
ber ; but it is not known how many. In closing a 
short account of his life at the date given above, he 
wrote : " In conclusion, I think it duty to say that 
the Lord of the harvest has noticed and measurably 
blessed my feeble efforts to promote his cause. And 
I humbly trust the annals of eternity will show 
some little good to have been accomplished." 

In 1853, he was chosen Recording Secretary of the 
Freewill Baptist Foreign Mission Society, and a mem- 
ber of its Executive Committee, which office he held 
till death. He was seldom, if ever, absent from the 
meetings of these bodies; had a lively interest in the 



244 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

cause of Missions, and was faithful in the discharge 
of his official duties. 

Though he belonged to a family most of the mem- 
bers of which had died of consumption, his well- 
developed frame and usually good health seemed 
to indicate that he might be spared, perhaps, to 
old age. This indication was, however, deceptive. 
The deadly foe had insidiously attacked the citadel 
of life, and done much toward demolishing it before 
the attack was known. The first symptom that 
caused alarm was the raising of blood from the 
lungs, which occurred some three or four years be- 
fore his death ; and it was then feared by some that 
he would never regain his health. But he gradu- 
ally recovered from this attack, and some others 
similar, though less severe, and, for a season before 
his last illness, his health seemed to be almost per- 
fect. 

Whatever was the cause of his healthy appearance, 
the pressure of the blood at length became too strong 
to be longer resisted by the previously ruptured, and 
only partially restored, lungs. A few days previous 
to Sabbath, December 6th, his symptoms gave him 
some uneasiness, and he decided not to preach that 
day. The gathering of the people to hear him 
changed his purpose, and he went into the pulpit 
intending to make only a few remarks in a collo- 
quial way ; but, feeling better as the services pro- 
ceeded, he preached, as usual, all day. His text in 
the afternoon was Proverbs i, 24 : "I have called, and 
ye refused." His sermon was solemn and impress- 
ive. Before light the next morning, he had an 



FREDERICK MOULTON. 245 

alarming attack of bleeding at the lungs, which 
brought him to the verge of the grave. He contin- 
ued to bleed at intervals eight or nine days, when a 
rush of blood to the brain deprived him of reason, 
in which state he died December 16, 1857. 

As he was much respected in Lebanon, his decease 
threw a deep gloom over the people there. Two days 
after his death, though the rain fell in torrents, his 
meeting-house was filled with a sorrowing audience, 
gathered to attend his funeral, when an appropriate 
sermon was preached by Rev. Daniel P. Cilley, of 
Great Falls. His text was 1 Samuel xxv, 1 : " And 
Samuel died; and all Israel were gathered together, 
and lamented him, and buried him in his house at 
Ramah." Seven other Freewill Baptist ministers, 
and a Congregational minister, were at the funeral. 
The tears and sad countenances of the audience, with 
the mournful parting look at the remains of him who 
lay before them in the sleep of death, showed how 
much he was beloved, especially by those who had 
been his hearers. The strength and tenderness of 
the relation between a good pastor and his appreci- 
ating flock were sadly and beautifully manifested on 
that impressive occasion. The silent but manifest 
evidence of the mourning of the people for the death 
of this servant of Christ, showed how stupid and 
ignorant those are who suppose that religion de- 
prives its possessor of respect, and that ministers 
can not be loved and honored. 

Though Mr. Moulton, in his conversation, was not 
lively, he was agreeable in his manners, and of a 
kind and benevolent disposition. His mind was of 



246 Eminent preachers. 

a mechanical cast, and he would have succeeded well 
as an artisan or a mechanic, had he given himself 
to such pursuits. His manner was earnest and im- 
pressive, and, especially toward the close of life, his 
sermons were argumentative and instructive, often 
containing bold and stirring ideas. It is not pre- 
sumed that he had no defects of character; but the 
estimation in which he was held indicates that his 
life was such as to honor his Christian and minis- 
terial profession. 

He was emphatically a self-made man. Possessed 
of a natural ease and grace of manner, combined 
with that originality and depth of thought which 
characterized his sermons, he secured the admira- 
tion of an audience which a more learned orator fre- 
quently fails to do. 

He was a faithful minister, a fearless advocate of 
truth, and a firm friend of the oppressed; uncom- 
promising with sin in any form, and failing not, at 
all times, "to declare the whole counsel of God." 
Although he denounced in plain terms the out- 
breaking evils of the day, his rebukes were ad- 
ministered in accents of love and kindness, which, 
while they carried conviction of its truth to the 
heart of the transgressor, secured his respect and 
esteem. 

He ardently loved the ministry, and his whole 
soul was in the work, though, like many others, he 
was often destined to feel that his labors were un- 
appreciated by the multitude. He often mourned 
over the low state of Zion, and at times felt almost 
disheartened by the coldness and indifference of 



FREDERICK MOULTON. 247 

professing Christians. The Lord permitted him to 
witness many blessed revivals under his labors, and 
we have no doubt there will be many souls as stars 
in the "crown of his rejoicing," who were brought 
into the kingdom through his instrumentality. 

Having large sympathies, he greatly endeared 
himself to his people. Many will remember his 
prayers and words of consolation in the hour of 
darkness and deep affliction. The dying eagerly 
looked to him for Christian counsel and strength- 
ening grace to meet the last struggle ; and the 
mourner for renewing faith and trust in the Re- 
deemer. Especially with the young, in their ar- 
duous efforts to procure an education, were his 
sympathies enlisted. Being deprived of this great 
blessing himself, he felt keenly its benefits, and en- 
tered with earnestness into the plans of many a 
young brother contemplating the work of the min- 
istry. Not a few such will ever remember his 
words of encouragement and advice. 

Being aware that he was liable to meet death at 
any hour, he was accustomed to reflect much upon 
the future world, and often conversed upon the 
probability of its employments. This was the sub- 
ject of the conversation held with the family on 
Sabbath evening, — the last one spent with them. 
But those eternal mysteries are now revealed to his 
unclouded vision. 

He died as he had lived, " strong in the Lord." 
To say that " he was submissive " but faintly ex- 
presses his state of mind during his sickness. He 
was extremely happy in view of the near approach 



248 EMINENT PBEAOHEIIS. 

of death, frequently exclaiming, " Come, Lord Jesus, 
come quickly." He bore all his sufferings, which 
were great — occasioned by being obliged to main- 
tain a sitting posture during the whole time — with 
the utmost patience. Not a murmur or complaint 
escaped his lips. He was confident from the first 
that he should not live, and was anxious to warn 
sinners once more to seek religion, as the neigh- 
bors came in to look upon him, especially the uncon- 
verted young men, in whom he felt a deep interest. 
He remarked to his companion that "he hoped he 
should slay more in his death than he did in his 
life-time. " 

But as the disease progressed, and his extreme 
weakness would not admit of their entering the 
room, he gave them into the hands of the Lord, 
saying : " The Lord knows the extent of my faith- 
fulness; I have tried to do my duty as made 
known, and, wherein I have failed, may he forgive 
me." Every earthly care seemed laid aside, and 
great peace of mind was experienced. When asked 
if he did not wish to live for the sake of his family, 
of which he was extremely fond, he replied : " I 
don't know; the Lord will provide for them." It 
was his dearest wish that his two sons should fol- 
low in his footsteps. The older son was baptized 
by his father, six months previous to his decease. 



ISAAC G. DAVIS. 249 

CHAPTEE XXIV. 

ISAAC G. DAVIS. 

Isaac G. Davis was born in Stanstead, Canada 
East, March 1, 1819. At the age of seventeen, he 
commenced his Christian experience and life in the 
same prompt, decisive manner which he always de- 
manded of others. In a protracted meeting, con- 
ducted by his brother, Kev. Jairus E. Davis, in 
Vermont, — his father having removed to that 
State, — he publicly and boldly announced "that 
from that moment he was for the Lord." 

For about one year his peace and hope were sat- 
isfactory, and his life happy; but serious convictions 
of duty respecting the ministry then arose, produc- 
ing much feeling and anxiety for another year, 
when, in 1838, he commenced holding meetings and 
studying with reference to his great work. His first 
efforts were favorably received and encouraged by 
the church and others; and, on the 22d of June, 1839, 
the Huntington Quarterly Meeting gave him license 
to preach the gospel. By a council appointed by 
the same Quarterly Meeting, he was ordained to 
the work of the ministry at Huntington, Vermont, 
on the 26th of September, 1840. This was no indi- 
cation to him that further study was unnecessary; 
but efforts in this direction were continued in the 
Biblical School at Parsonsfield and Lowell. 

About this time he was accepted by the Mission 
Board as a foreign missionary; but it was finally 



250 EMINENT PEEACHEES. 

concluded that his health would not endure the cli- 
mate of India, and the appointment was declined. 
But his feelings were always strongly enlisted in 
the cause of Missions ; and even when irrational 
upon the death-bed the mind was occupied with 
this theme, and the preparatory instructions re- 
ceived from Mr. Noyes, more than twenty years 
before, were repeated with accuracy, showing con- 
tinued interest in the enterprise of his early choice. 
While attending the Biblical School at Lowell, he 
commenced laboring with the church in Roxbury, 
Massachusetts, where his labors were abundantly 
blessed, and the little church, organized about that 
time, greatly increased in strength and numbers. 

In August, 1843, he was married to Miss Almira 
Bullock, and, after spending one year in Portsmouth, 
New Hampshire, under the severe trials incident to 
the excitement of that year, removed to Deerfield, 
New Hampshire. Two years of faithful pastoral 
labor were performed with this church, and then a 
missionary tour in Nova Scotia and New Bruns- 
wick was undertaken. As upon a former visit to 
the same Province, his labors were successful, and 
many will be the stars of his rejoicing from this 
interesting field. 

In 1848, he returned, and, after supplying the desk 
in Lawrence for three months, removed to the West. 
For several years, with the exception of a year or 
two spent in Elgin, Illinois, most of his time was 
given to missionary labors in Boon and McHenry 
Quarterly Meetings, and in other parts of Illinois 
and Wisconsin. 



ISAAC G. DAVIS. 251 

In 1855, he took the pastoral care of the church 
in Fayette, Wisconsin, where, with the exception 
of one year, spent in Warren, Illinois, he continued 
faithfully at his post until death. Here, too, his 
labors were successful, and one of the most precious 
revivals ever witnessed in that region was enjoyed. 
And throughout the whole seven years he enjoyed 
the confidence of his congregation; and when he re- 
signed, the resignation was refused, and the congre- 
gation increased rather than diminished. 

In December, 1862, he served as moderator in 
Quarterly Meeting, apparently in good health; was 
immediately taken ill, and died in eleven days. 
Rev. Ransom Dunn, the speaker whom he selected, 
addressed a large and deeply-affected audience upon 
the occasion, from 2 Corinthians iv, 17, 18. 

Mr. Davis was a diffident, unassuming man; and 
although bold, and seemingly almost exacting, w T hen 
urging the claims of God, yet his sensitive nature 
shrunk from discord and opposition, and sometimes 
w r as perhaps too easily discouraged with trials so 
constant in ministerial life. But his attachment to 
Christ and his church — to his brethren and the souls 
of men — never failed. He was no sectarian, and 
sometimes administered severe and well-pointed 
rebukes to bigotry ; but still the doctrines, usages, 
and denomination of his choice always received his 
faithful adherence. The salaries and places some- 
times promised elsewhere, were no temptation to 
him ; and the weak churches and weak members, 
instead of repelling, only attracted his sympathizing 
and truthful heart. 



252 EMINENT PEEACHEES. 

The moral enterprises received his hearty support, 
and the payment of a scholarship in Hillsdale Col- 
lege from his scanty means, indicated his feelings 
respecting the subject of educatiou. His life and 
example were unusually blameless. His friends 
were many ; his enemies, none. His mind was sym- 
metrical, and most at home with practical themes. 
His preaching was generally of that cast; seldom 
leading the hearers into half-explored metaphysical 
questions on the one hand, or disgusting them with 
waggery and doubtful jokes on the other. His ser- 
mons were plain, forcible, and pathetic; delivered 
with the eloquence of honesty and earnestness ; and, 
upon the whole, much above mediocrity. As a man 
and a citizen, he was unobjectionable; as a friend 
and Christian, always reliable; as a neighbor and 
church- member, ever ready to bear his full propor- 
tion of sacrifice and labor for human society. He 
left the inestimable treasure of a good example to 
the world ; with none but pleasant associations in 
the minds of all who enjoyed his society. 

He left four brothers, — Mr. Silas A. Davis, the 
Yearly Meeting Clerk, Deacon W. Bennet Davis, 
and Revs. Jairus E. and Kinsman R. Davis. Also, 
three or four sisters, and an aged father, who, for 
more than fifty years, has been a faithful member 
of the Freewill Baptist Denomination. His own 
family consisted of a daughter and three sons, the 
oldest of whom went in the army, and the youngest 
■ — a child two years old — to heaven, having departed 
two days in advance of his father. 



EDMUND MARCH TAPPAN. 253 

CHAPTER XXV. 

EDMUND MAECH TAPPAN. 

Edmund Maech Tappan was born in Sandwich, 
New Hampshire, September 3, 1824, and was the 
eldest of a family of ten children. His parents, 
Jonathan and Dorothy B. Tappan, were owners and 
occupants of a small farm in that town, where, by 
industry and prudence, they were able to provide 
for the necessities of their enlarging household, 
furnish their children with such educational ad- 
vantages as the public schools afforded, and provide 
for their regular attendance upon public worship on 
the Sabbath. As the pressure upon the father's 
energies grew severer, Edmund was kept largely 
occupied with the labors of the farm, to which he 
was never drawn by inclination, but steadily com- 
pelled by authority and necessity. The labors of 
the field were always peculiarly distasteful to him, 
and he gives an account, in a brief narrative of his 
life left behind him, of the boyish expedients to 
which he was accustomed to resort in order to escape 
the drudgery. 

His love of study was strong and active. He 
greatly enjoyed the few advantages offered him, 
during bis brief visits to the school-house, and 
sought to profit by them. He was, also, very fond 
of strolling in the fields and woods, where he might 
give himself up to revery, indulge in his imagin- 
ings and anticipations which distinguish the young, 



254 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

and exercise himself in preaching to the trees or to 
the cattle; the germ, perhaps, of that settled con- 
viction which, in after years, made the choice of the 
pulpit the only open way of duty. Even at this 
early period he felt the strivings of ambition, and 
resolved to win renown among men as a lawyer and 
orator. 

At the age of seventeen he had become so dis- 
satisfied with the vocation of farm-life, and so de- 
sirous to see something of the world, and gather up 
its distinctions, that he at length persuaded his 
parents — not without much difficulty — to allow him 
to go from home, work out his own fortune, and 
become a helper in the labor of caring for the fam- 
ily, instead of remaining as an additional burden. 
The parting scene was tenderer and severer than he 
had anticipated, and nothing but his pride and am- 
bition kept his purpose from breaking down. He 
found a home for nearly three years in a pleasant 
family residing in Danvers, Massachusetts, where he 
had arranged to live and labor. Here he attended 
an efficient district school during two winters, with 
very great profit, and subsequently returned to Sand- 
wich and spent three months as a pupil in the high 
school. 

Subsequently returning to Danvers, he re-com- 
menced work, and was able to send some pecuniary 
aid to his father, which he was accustomed to do 
under the impulse of gratitude and the sense of 
obligation. In the autumn of 1844, with little 
money and much courage, he went to a high school 
in Douglas, Massachusetts, and taught his first 



EDMUND MARCH TAPPAN. 255 

district school the following winter, in Uxbridge, 
with success and satisfaction. 

In the spring of 1845, he entered Smithfield 
Seminary as a pupil, then under the charge of 
Rev. Hosea Quinby, where he remained till August, 
1847, when he left to enter upon a course of study 
at Dartmouth College. These years at Smithfield 
were significant. He had but forty dollars in his 
pocket on his arrival, and received no pecuniary 
aid from friends, either in the form of donations or 
loans ; — partly because his immediate relatives were 
not in circumstances to afford him any considerable 
assistance, and partly because he had a strong love 
of independence, and preferred to fight his own way 
through difficulties rather than solicit any body to 
help him to surmount them. He sought, and usu- 
ally found, employment during the vacations and a 
part of the day during term-time, spending the win- 
ters in teaching such schools as were open to him. 
He was compelled to satisfy himself with few 
books and scanty clothing; but his resolution to go 
through college, if possible, never seriously faltered, 
even when his hope threatened to desert him. His 
goal was in his eye, and he accepted whatever 
sacrifices were necessary in order to reach it. 

During the month of May, 1845, he consecrated 
himself to Christ, and at once openly announced his 
Christian purpose, and testified of the grace which 
had brought him light and life. He was baptized 
by Rev. Hosea Quinby, August 9, 1846, and united 
with the Freewill Baptist Church at North Scit- 
uate, Rhode Island. Though more than a year 



256 EMINENT PREACHERS. . 

elapsed after his conversion before he united with 
the church, he was a stable and active Christian, 
whose character won respect and whose influence 
was felt to be salutary. 

Soon after his conversion, he found his resolution 
to study law seriously shaken by the conviction, 
which grew every day stronger, that God was call- 
ing him to the ministry. The thought was at first 
unwelcome. Years before he had chosen his sphere 
of life, framed his plans carefully, and gone reso- 
lutely at work to execute them. It seemed like a 
hand stretched out to dash his hopes, and again and 
again he strove to put it away. He reasoned him- 
self right, but the conviction that he was wrong 
came in at the end, and all his logic was borne 
down before it. The struggle between ambition and 
duty was long and severe; but God's will was at' 
length cordially welcomed, and the servant stood 
up and waited for the Master's commission. But, 
instead of feeling that he must relinquish his pro- 
posed course of collegiate study, the great work 
before him only pressed him the more strongly on. 
He had accepted his tasks; but he was taking the 
fuller instructions, and seeking the needed baptism 
of power. 

By the practice of a rigid economy, and the aid 
derived from teaching during the winter, in which 
both himself and his wife were engaged, he gradu- 
ated, July 29, 1852, with high testimonials, and free 
from the burdens of debt. Passing by other calls, 
which were accompanied by the offer of larger sal- 
aries, he accepted, chiefly from denomination! con- 



EDMUND MARCH TAPPAN. 257 

siderations, the Principalship of Geauga Seminary, 
in Ohio. His intention had been to pursue a course 
of theological study before entering upon the work 
of the ministry ; but he yielded to the advice of 
others, and was ordained at Foster, Rhode Island, 
August 18, 1852, only a few days before starting to 
his field of labor in Ohio. He had preached occa- 
sionally while in college, and felt thoroughly settled 
in his purpose to make the ministry his sphere of 
service. 

He commenced his labors at Geauga Seminary on 
the 5th of September, and, for the three terms dur- 
ing which he was occupied in that institution, 
proved himself an efficient teacher, and won the 
esteem of his patrons, his pupils, and of the commun- 
ity generally. Receiving an urgent call to take the 
pastoral charge of the church in Waterford, Mass., 
he at length decided to accept it, and devote him- 
self to theological studies in a private way, rather 
than delay an entrance upon the active duties of 
the ministry till he had graduated at some theolog- 
ical seminary. He commenced his labors at Water- 
ford in May, 1853, and remained until October 1, 
1857, when, having accepted a call to the pastorate 
of the Freewill Baptist Church in Lawrence, Mas- 
sachusetts, he entered upon his work in that city, 
which proved to be his last sphere of labor. 

His pastorate at Waterford was very pleasant to 
him, and eminently satisfactory to the people. To 
him it brought the hopes, and questionings, and 
fears, and anxieties, which become prominent feat- 
ures in the experience of every young, earnest, and 



258 EMINENT PBEACHEBS. 

conscientious preacher, as his brief and fragmentary- 
journal abundantly proves. During his last year 
at Waterford, a very precious revival was enjoyed, 
which greatly cheered his own heart, brought quick- 
ening and encouragement to the church, and added 
a goodly company of converts to the people of the 
Lord. He left, at what seemed to him a plain call 
of duty, followed by the regrets of his whole people. 

His labors were arduous and yet pleasant. He 
thoroughly identified himself with all the interests 
of that struggling church, saw a large number of 
conversions, and rejoiced with trembling while he 
saw its numbers and responsibilities steadily in- 
creasing. The mutual attachment of pastor and 
people grew daily stronger, and he soon became well 
known and highly esteemed among the best people 
of the city. He suffered considerably at times from 
impaired health, but continued his regular pastoral 
labors until May, 1860, when he retired for a season, 
hoping to recruit his energies and. return to his 
work. But it was found that disease was fastened 
upon him. Medical skill and change of scene and 
location were alike unavailing. He tried the moun- 
tain air; he sought the sea breezes; he visited 
among friends; he resorted to various recreations; 
dieted, and sought, though reluctantly, medical ad- 
vice. Though at times his own hopes and those of 
his friends were somewhat revived, yet there was 
no permanent improvement. 

In September he returned to his home at Law- 
rence, hoping for deeper quiet, and sure of better 
care. He preached once, in great feebleness, after 



EDMUND MARCH TAPPAN. 259 

his return, but at once saw the impropriety of re- 
peating the effort; and it was soon manifest, even 
to the hopeful eyes of his friends, that his work in 
the pulpit was ended, and his own convictions were 
fast becoming settled that his end was near. With 
great calmness, he looked forward to his dissolu- 
tion, — his trust in God's promise, — his hopes an- 
chored in heaven. Taking an interest in every 
thing about him, as was his wont, mindful of the 
little courtesies of life which he had always respected, 
he was so thoroughly like his former self, that af- 
fection still hoped he was yet to linger. There was 
no loss of consciousness, no dimness of the mental 
eye, no forgetfulness of the precious interests clus- 
tering about him, — frequently counting his own 
pulses that he might judge how near death had 
come, and speaking soothing words to the sad 
group around his couch almost to the last hour, he 
sank away, as if in the quietness of sleep, on the 
evening of December 12, 1860, aged thirty- six, 
leaving a wife and a little girl of six years. 

His funeral was attended in the house of worship, 
where he had been accustomed to preach, on Satur- 
day afternoon, December 15, when a solemn and 
crowded audience gathered in grief and sympathy. 
The house was draped in mourning, and the flowing 
tears and half-suppressed sighs told how general 
and deep was the sense of bereavement. Several 
of the clergymen of the city appeared as pall-bearers, 
and a number of Freewill Baptist ministers from 
abroad testified to the mournful interest with which 
the news of his death had been received. Rev. Mr. 



260 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

Burgess, of Haverhill, conducted the preliminary 
services ; a discourse was delivered by Rev. George 
T. Day, D. D., then of Providence, Rhode Island, 
to whom I am indebted for this sketch ; Rev. Mr. 
Tenney, of the Central Congregational Church in 
Lawrence, added some w r ords of sympathy and 
appreciation ; and Rev. Ransom Dunn, D. D., of 
Boston, followed in a brief and touching address to 
the bereaved friends and church, and commended 
them to God in prayer. The services were closed 
by the singing of the 322d hymn in the Choralist, 
— a hymn which Mr. Tappan himself had com- 
posed ; then, one by one, the great assembly passed 
by the coffin, and took the last look at the face that 
was soon to disappear amid the shadows of the 
tomb ; the sad procession moved slowly away to the 
cemetery, and the mortal drama was over. 

There is room for only a few words, touching the 
character of the departed minister. 

His native and acquired energy of character gave 
him a large part of his outward success. The idea 
of doing something in life^ which possessed his 
mind at an early period, grew with his growth, and 
strengthened with his years. He had definite aims 
and corresponding plans. He never waited for 
good fortune to come ; instead, he girded himself 
for its pursuit. He was never blind to obstacles, 
and seldom underestimated their force ; but they 
never frightened him, and seldom induced the aban- 
donment of the path where they had accumulated 
before him. He worked while he waited. He had 
little patience with indolence and aimlessness; and 



EDMUND MARCH TAPPAN. 261 

every life, that lacked system, seemed to liim want- 
ing also in dignity. He hoped for nothing, as he 
felt he really deserved nothing, till he had paid its 
fair price in hard and honest toil; it was a trial 
when the reward failed to follow the work. The 
real attainments which he made, and the real emi- 
nence which he reached, came only through the per- 
sistent energy with which he wrought in the field 
of life, — using, all the while, only such implements 
as almost every ordinary mind may command. 

He was eminently practical in his tastes and 
tendencies, and direct and straightforward in his 
plans and methods. He was not a man of expe- 
dients, and could not have been a skillful and suc- 
cessful trimmer, partly because he was wanting in 
the ability, but still more because his whole moral 
nature rebelled against the idea of such a life. He 
was forever asking after the practical utility of 
whatever was submitted to him, and his sympathy 
was almost sure to be measured by the amount of 
manifest and substantial good which any object or 
measure carried or could secure. He distrusted ab- 
stractions, and had little confidence in theorists. 
He lived in the present,^ — refusing alike to yield a 
conservative reverence to the past, or believe in the 
dreams wherewith radical minds paint the. future. 
To him the highest truths were those which minis- 
tered strength to the soul, gave nobleness to charac- 
ter, and consecrated the active life of righteousness. 
He rarely contended for a mere idea; but he would 
not have sold a plain, fundamental, practical prin- 
ciple for his life. 



262 EMINENT PEEACHEES. 

As might be inferred, the intellectual and con- 
scientious elements of his nature were the prominent 
features that distinguished it. His reasons and im- 
pulsions toward the right stood in the foreground 
of his mental action, and covered a large part of 
the area of his experience. The aifectional and 
imaginative faculties were not positively weak, but 
relatively subordinate. He could enjoy society, 
appreciate wit, laugh at humor, frolic with child- 
hood, and drink in the beauty of nature and art; 
but these were not the spontaneous movements of 
his mind. He did not multiply confidents, nor ex- 
pose his deeper feelings to the public eye, nor care 
much for the etiquette of society, nor take pains to 
keep on sympathetic terms with the leaders, or 
expounders, or echoers of public opinion. 

As a result, he sometimes seemed to strangers 
cold, taciturn, exacting, and severe, if not posi- 
tively harsh and cynical. But those who knew him 
best, had no difficulty in perceiving that his soul 
had a fountain of tenderness; that he wrestled with 
the wayward tendencies within him like an Olymp- 
ian athlete; that he took all genuine and proved 
excellences to his heart with a generous apprecia- 
tion, and that his spirit cried out from its depths 
after God, as a weak and bewildered child might 
send its voice through the darkening forest to its 
father's ear, He would have had a sunnier ex- 
perience, and probably a longer working-day, if he 
had been more naturally genial, and his imagina- 
tion had thrown more hues of brightness over the 
landscape of life. 



EDMUND MARCH TAPPAN. 263 

As a preacher, he was intensely laborious, always 
practical, largely instructive, and ceaselessly earnest. 
He so felt the importance of his work, that he 
would never undertake it carelessly, nor till he had 
made the amplest preparation which his circum- 
stances allowed. He carried his anxieties to the 
pulpit, carried them away from it to his home and 
closet, and could not leave them behind even when 
seeking recreation abroad, or struggling with the 
disease which at last overmastered him. He had 
indeed bound them so closely to him that they 
seemed at length to have almost grown to his heart. 
Having planted and sown, he was perpetually ask- 
ing for the fruit, — nay, almost demanding it. Al- 
most without a figure of speech, it may be said that 
he was a martyr to the hard work and pressing 
cares of the ministry ; — scarcely knowing how to 
turn any portion of the work into pastime, and find- 
ing his effort to lay down the cares scarcely less 
severe than to bear them as a daily burden. The 
fact carries its own moral, and teaches its own les- 
sons to the yet living toilers who succeed to his 
work and encounter his perils. 

He loved the denomination deeply, and prayed 
and worked for its prosperity. It was only his real 
love for it that prompted him to point out what he 
deemed its defects, criticize what he believed its 
errors, and become at times almost impatient of its 
delays in pressing on to the gains and conquests 
that seemed to him within its reach. His love was 
deep enough to be jealous of its honor and reputa- 
tion, and faithful enough to prompt — perhaps too 



264 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

often and too much — an unwelcome rebuke of its 
faults, instead of a grateful compliment to its excel- 
lences. He has shown his love for it by giving his 
energetic, active, and useful life to its welfare, and 
leaving his memory in its care. He had been, for 
some years, an efficient co-laborer in sustaining the 
literary department of the Quarterly ; had contrib- 
uted not a small amount of material for the Star, 
and had actively co-operated in all the great general 
enterprises, besides carrying into his pastoral work 
a rare fidelity and success. 



ISAAC TIRRELL PACKARD. 265 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

ISAAC TIREELL PACKARD. 

Isaac Tirrell Packard was born in Cumming- 
ton, Massachusetts, May 23, 1826, where his early 
childhood was spent till he was about seven years 
of age. At this period his father removed with his 
family to the State of Ohio, where he became an 
honored resident. When at the plastic and import- 
ant age of eight years, his mother died, leaving him 
bereft of that best friend and counselor that man 
enjoys from the cradle to the grave. Two years 
after this he went to reside in a respectable family 
in Licking County, where he remained several years. 
It was during his residence here that he experienced 
his first marked religious impressions. These occur- 
red at the religious services conducted by Rev. 
George W. Baker. During these services he went 
forward several times for prayers. The way, how- 
ever, seemed to him involved in darkness and ob- 
scurity, which did not, at this time, yield to the 
light ; nor, indeed, till the lapse of six long years. 

When about sixteen years of age, he commenced 
attending the Granville Academy, and, after one or 
two sessions, he entered upon the business of teach- 
ing. In 1844, he spent about nine months in the 
State of Kentucky in this employment, — a continu- 
ance in which was prevented by an attack of fever, 
implicating his lungs. After a few weeks of con- 
finement, he was so far recovered as to return to his 
friends in Ohio. * - 

23 



266 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

It was during his residence in Kentucky that he 
experienced those precious influences of the Spirit 
upon his heart, which produced the buddings and 
bursting forth of the new life within him. A dis- 
tinct view of his sinfulness and danger was first 
revealed to him, attended afterward with an oppres- 
sive sense of his unworthiness and helplessness, till 
he was brought to yield all up to Christ, willing to 
be any thing or nothing for his sake. 

He united with the Methodist class on probation, 
and received much strength and encouragement from 
this connection. After returning to Ohio, he united 
with a class in Liberty. Impressed with the belief 
that immersion is essential to scriptural baptism, he 
applied to the minister in charge for the ordinance 
thus administered. Being put off by him from time 
to time, in consequence of these views of baptism, 
with repeated efforts to dissuade him from them, the 
young, conscientious disciple at last applied to Rev. 
Goodwin Evans, a minister of the Freewill Baptist 
Denomination, and, after examination and acceptance 
by the church, received baptism at his hands. This 
occasion was a season of great conflict and trial. 
Till the moment of his descending into the bap- 
tismal grave, his mind was shrouded in the deepest 
darkness ; but when he arose from the parting wave 
in symbolic resurrection, his spirit also burst forth 
into new life, and thrilled with unutterable ecstacy. 
He seemed to be invested anew, and more especially 
with the armor of the Most High, and ready to 
do valiant service in his cause. 

Soon after this his mind became exercised with 



ISAAC TIREELL PACKARD. 267 

impressions of duty in regard to entering the work 
of the Christian ministry. The great harvest field 
seemed to his spiritual vision, white to the harvest 
work. The word of God seemed pointed with pre- 
cepts, pressing to this personal service. Still the 
struggle between his convictions and his oppressive 
sense of un worthiness and unfitness for the work, was 
protracted and severe. Duty, however, triumphed. 
After counseling with his brethren, he resolved to 
venture forward in the strength of the Lord, and 
immediately his mind became more calm, and his 
spirit seemed girded with new strength. He re- 
ceived license "to improve his gift," by the First 
Freewill Baptist Church in Liberty, Licking County, 
April 11, 1846. He afterward received license from 
the Quarterly Meeting on the 21st of May, 1847. 
He received public ordination at the Licking Quar- 
terly Meeting, May 28, 1848. 

He felt himself now fully devoted to this great 
work. Having obtained a horse and saddle, he 
seemed to feel that this was all the earthly estate 
he wanted. Thus furnished, he rode through the 
western counties of the State, preaching from place 
to place, till the return of winter, which he spent 
in teaching, filling also regular appointments in 
preaching. The next summer he spent in preaching 
and study, laboring with his own hands for his sup- 
port. The following winter he engaged in teaching 
as usual. Feeling at this time the necessity of 
greater intellectual attainments as subsidiary to the 
great work in which he was engaged, he made ar- 
rangements to accomplish a liberal course of col- 



268 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

legiate studies, and, for this purpose, entered Gran- 
ville College early in 1848. 

He continued earnestly devoted to his studies till 
the beginning of 1849, defraying his expenses mainly 
by teaching during the intermediate vacations. In 
December he received a call to preach regularly to 
the Concord Freewill Baptist Church, once in two 
weeks, to which he acceded, walking often nine 
miles and back to accomplish this service, after an 
intermediate two weeks of exhausting toil in the 
discharge of his college duties. This accumulation 
of labors began soon evidently to prey upon his 
feeble bodily powers, and his health became so 
much impaired that he decided, in the early part of 
the year, to suspend his collegiate studies for a 
time, till his health should recover, intending then 
to resume and complete his studies, — an ardent wish, 
of his heart which Providence saw fit he should 
never realize. With rest, however, his health ral- 
lied, so that he engaged in teaching in the latter 
part of winter and early in the spring. A short 
time before his term of engagement expired, he 
was confined "by a severe attack of illness. 

After a few weeks, however, his health again 
rallied, so that he was able to visit among his peo- 
ple. At this juncture, he deemed it advisable to 
make especial efforts for the restoration of his 
shattered health. For this purpose he procured a 
convenient boarding place with a worthy family 
connected with his church, where he could enjoy 
facilities for out-door exercise, with such an amount 
of private study as his health would permit him to 



ISAAC TIRRELL PACKARD. 269 

accomplish. He was scarcely settled in his new and 
promising home, when, remaining out rather late in 
his exercise, he seemed to have taken a slight cold. 
He soon experienced sensations of extreme chilliness, 
after which a violent fever supervened. After a few 
days, the violence of his symptoms seemed consider- 
ably mitigated, so that strong hopes were enter- 
tained of his recovery. At this crisis he was 
attacked with violent singultus — hiccough — which, 
though palliated temporarily, could never, by the 
most earnest efforts of his physicians, be wholly 
arrested. It was soon evident that this must rap- 
idly w T ear away to parting the attenuated thread of 
life. 

Under these discouraging aspects of his disease, 
his friends, who had been with him from the first 
few days of his attack, intimated to him the unfa- 
vorable nature of the symptoms which had devel- 
oped themselves and were in progress, and inquired 
if there w r ere any arrangements he w T ould like to 
make in case he should not recover. The intima- 
tions gave him no alarm or apparent uneasiness. 
He expressed a desire to make a disposition of his 
temporal concerns, in view of the probability that 
he should not recover. 

He wished his books to be brought to his bedside, 
in order that he might distribute them to the differ- 
ent members of his father's family. "It is a hard 
task," he remarked, u but if the Lord will give me 
strength, I will go through with it." He made a 
distribution of his books to the different members 
of the family in such a manner as he thought best 



270 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

adapted to their several circumstances. His Bible, 
around which the very tendrils of his inner soul 
seemed to have entwined themselves, he gave to his 
youngest brother, — and his soul seemed to go forth 
with the gift. In simple and touching earnestness, 
and a look that spoke more than words, he said to 
him, "It is an old one, and not very good; but," 
he added, "if you will get as much good from it as 
I have, it will be sufficient to carry you to heaven." 
He afterward expressed a wish to have President 
Bailey, of Granville College, preach his funeral dis- 
course, and that they should lay him by the side of 
his mother and sister, in an adjoining town, as though 
he would delight that his dust should rest and min- 
gle with theirs when the earth-struggle and its 
bitter toil were over. 

He seemed to feel great satisfaction when his 
worldly arrangements were all completed. It seemed 
as though the burdens of earth had fallen from his 
spirit, — as though his soul could turn more fully 
away toward his Maker, and the better inheritance 
above. There were times, however, after this, that 
he seemed to feel anxiety to live, — not merely that 
life was so dear and death so terrible. It was that 
he might labor to bring souls to Christ. "It 
seems," said he, " that I am too young to die, — 
that I have done too little for Christ." Death had 
no terrors to him ; it came to him rather in friendly 
guise. When he cast a lingering look back to earth 
and life, it w 7 as with the feelings of the apostle, as 
"in a strait betwixt two, desiring rather to depart 
and be with Christ which is far better." 



ISAAC TIRRELL PACKARD. 271 

It may be here remarked that, for some months 
previous to his death, he seemed to be actuated by 
an uncommon anxiety for the welfare of souls. It 
seemed to characterize his discourses, his prayers, 
and all his efforts, He seemed to be dissatisfied 
with all preaching and other religious services that 
did not bear directly on this point. Indeed he 
seemed in haste to finish up his work. 

On Monday morning, May 21, 1849, it was evi- 
dent to all that life had nearly run out all its linger- 
ing sands. He was fully conscious himself that he 
was passing through the last moments of his earthly 
course. At this critical moment of solemn and 
tender interest, the sun of his soul's consolation and 
hope passed under a cloud. Not a star from the 
dark firmament that gathered above him, gleamed 
out its single ray of hope. It was an hour of in- 
tense trial. He began to be fearful for the final 
moment. Watching his own sinking pulse, with its 
half-stifled flutterings, he expressed an anguished 
concern lest the last scene of earth should close in 
darkness and gloom. An affectionate and devoted 
sister, watching constantly at his bedside, strove to 
minister to him the consolations of divine promises, 
but he was still unable to appropriate them to his 
own soul. 

This crisis in his feelings was communicated to 
a regular Baptist clergyman who had called to see 
him, but was not present in the room. He was 
immediately at his bedside, and repeated to him 
for some time various Scripture promises adapted 
to his case. Another minister was also present and 



272 EMINENT PKEACHEES. 

conversed with him; when suddenly the light broke 
in upon his soul like the brightness of another 
world, and he exclaimed in gasping accents: " Bless 
the Lord! — Oh, bless the Lord! — Glory, glory to 
God! Oh, the blessed hope left poor mortals here! 
The Christian hope, — glory, glory, to God ! Jesus 
my all, — Oh, I just begin to live ! Glory ! glory ! " 
He asked each individual around him, if they would 
meet him around the throne of God. Addressing 
his father he said, "Oh, father, prepare to meet me 
in heaven ! — and we will sing around the throne 
forever." He bade them all an affectionate farewell, 
and then breathed forth, — "Lord Jesus, into thy 
hands I commit my spirit; Oh, Jesus, come, come!" 
Then, as if forgetful of self in his concern for the 
glory of Christ, and the welfare of souls, he faltered 
forth the prayer, — "Oh, Jesus, establish thy king- 
dom ! establish thy kingdom ! " This was nearly his 
last distinct utterance on earth ; and he soon sank, 
"like the weary, worn out winds," peacefully to rest. 
It would be a pleasing task to delineate the dis- 
tinguishing traits of Mr. Packard's character; but 
space will not allow. Suffice it to say, that they 
who knew him best, esteemed him most. In the 
judgment of those who best knew him, he was a 
young man of uncommon promise, — taking all the 
elements of his character, his piety, his mental 
ability, his high and single aim as a Christian and 
Christian minister. Mild, and modest, and affable 
in all the intercourse of life, he was greatly endeared 
to many hearts. The lessons of his life are still 
speaking in the depths of many a spirit. 



273 



CHAPTEE XXVII. 

milton Mcdonald. 

Milton McDonald was born in Pike County, 
Indiana, April 12, 1831. He was one of a large 
family, there being six brothers and eight sisters in 
the family. The parents were poor, but industrious ; 
the father, for many years afflicted with blindness, 
was a man of strong miud and intellectual habits. 
In the fall of 1842, the family moved to and settled 
in St. Albans, Hancock County, Illinois. From 
childhood Milton was remarkably sober and steady, 
and never appeared to relish wild and giddy com- 
pany. He made use of every opportunity for at- 
tending school, until he was capable of teaching a 
common school himself; and this was the only meaus 
he ever had for obtaining a living, or improving 
his own education. 

He was converted in 1847, and joined the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church, and was a very faithful, zeal- 
ous member. He " conferred not with flesh and 
blood," but entered boldly and resolutely on that 
devoted, earnest Christian career which ended only 
with his life ; nor did his zeal outstrip his candor. 
He studied the inspired Word for himself, that he 
might know what he believed, and whereof he 
affirmed. After remaining about four years a mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church, his views 
on the subject of baptism having undergone a 
change — induced in part, at least, by reading Dr. 



274 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

Clarke, the Methodist commentator — he was im- 
mersed by Rev. Caleb M. Sewall, and united with 
the Freewill Baptist Church in St. Albans, May 4, 
1851. 

His call to preach was clear; no lingering doubts 
appear to have haunted his mind. He gave him- 
self wholly to the work. This call, however, was 
no warrant to the young disciple for neglecting the 
due cultivation of his intellectual faculties. On 
the other hand, it was a spur to urge him on to 
make the most of his heaven-bestowed talents. The 
following winter he attended school in Carthage, the 
county-seat; and afterward entered Knox College, 
at Galesburg, where, however, he remained less 
than a year, owing to the state of his health, which 
did not allow of his prosecuting his contemplated 
course of study. While at Galesburg, Mr. M. re- 
ceived aid from churches to which Mr. Sewall was 
preaching, and, though his stay at Galesburg was 
short, he made a very favorable impression on the 
mind of the president, Dr. Blanchard, who greatly 
interested himself in his welfare. 

Mr. McDonald's first license to preach was given 
by the Hancock Quarterly Meeting, and bears date 
of February 27, 1852, and was renewed about a year 
thereafter. He was publicly set apart to the work 
of the ministry by the imposition of hands at Fiat, 
Fulton County, December 24, 1854. 

Before his ordination, September 23, 1854, he was 
appointed to labor six months within the limits of 
the Walnut Creek Quarterly Meeting, and entered 
at once on the duties of his loved mission. Fired 



MILTON M'DONALD. 275 

with zeal for God and love for souls, the young 
soldier of the cross went forth, abounding in labors 
for his divine Master. He usually preached every 
evening. By reference to a few of his favorite texts, 
which find a frequent record in his diary, we get a 
pretty good idea of the general theme and scope of 
his preaching at this time. Earnest and cogent 
appeals to the impenitent to repent of their sins 
and become reconciled to God, through Christ, ever 
characterized his public addresses. His labors dur- 
ing the six months itinerancy, were distributed 
among the churches, and attended with encouraging 
results. A number of protracted meetings were 
held during this time, which were blessed to the 
conversion of many precious souls. His devoted, 
unremitting, affectionate efforts to save souls, joined 
with a consistent life, and truly gentlemanly bear- 
ing, failed not to endear the youthful preacher to 
many hearts, and lay the foundation of permanent 
friendship and future usefulness. He honored God, 
and in return was highly esteemed by his people. 

As a pastor, Mr. McDonald was held in high 
reputation, and none who enjoyed his labors as such 
could say, "No man careth for my soul." In April, 
1855, he was called to the joint pastoral charge oi 
the churches at Boyd's Grove and Elmira, and, 
with slight changes, continued in this relation four 
years. The churches of Bradford and Wyanett were 
also supplied by him a portion of this time ; and no 
one who reads his journal during this period, can 
fail to be deeply impressed with the evidence of his 
earnest, glowing zeal and entire consecration to the 



276 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

great work for which he lived. The members of 
those churches, and the community generally, must 
long continue to be "witnesses of how holily, and 
justly, and unblamably" this faithful servant of the 
Lord "preached the Word unto them; being instant 
in season and out of season, to reprove, rebuke, 
exhort, with all long suffering and doctrine." Lit- 
erally, " he taught publicly and from house to house, 
testifying to all repentance toward God, and faith 
toward our Lord Jesus Christ." 

Nor were his labors in vain in the Lord. Month 
after month, the baptismal waters were visited, and 
accessions made to the churches that shared his 
labors. His zeal was a self-consuming zeal. Hav- 
ing given himself wholly to the work of the gospel 
ministry, he encumbered himself but seldom with 
secular business, and when he did, it was "to supply 
the lack of service" on the part of those to whom 
he ministered in spiritual things. His health, 
which had repeatedly failed, became so much im- 
paired during the winter of 1858-9, that, early in 
the spring following, he declined renewing his en- 
gagements to labor as pastor, contemplating an 
itinerancy. But poor health appears to have de- 
barred him from preaching more than occasionally 
through the summer. 

In the month of September, he removed to Ellison, 
"Warren County, and assumed charge of the church 
in that place. He, however, engaged there for only 
six months, and, at the expiration of that time, 
removed to Roseville, where he organized a church, 
and labored one year with good success. He then 



MILTON m'donald. 277 

accepted an invitation to become pastor of Prairie 
City Church, and entered upon his labors in April, 
3861, having spent a month with this church in a 
protracted effort the previous winter. His faithful 
labors were signally blessed in leading sinners to 
Christ, and the church was enlarged and edified 
during his residence within its limits. His failing 
health, however, soon compelled him to relinquish 
this, his last charge on earth. About eight months 
after he had entered on his labors at Prairie City, 
he was, reluctantly, compelled to offer his resigna- 
tion, which was accepted by the church with deep 
and sincere regret. 

Few, indeed, realize more fully than did he the 
solemn responsibilities of the pastoral relation. 
With earnest faithfulness he sought to awaken the 
careless sinner to a sense of his danger, and with 
unspeakable joy he pointed the inquirer to the 
"Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the 
world." He made it his business to visit all the 
members of his congregation, and zealously labor 
for their spiritual good. He seldom neglected any 
opportunity for religious conversation, and in this 
respect his ruling passion was seen to be strong even 
in death. He still continued to labor for the salva- 
tion of impenitent friends, when his failing voice 
could be heard only in broken whispers, and his 
dying hours were cheered by the grateful assurances 
that those labors were not in vain. He died trust- 
ing in the sacred promise, that those he thus warned 
would prepare to meet him in heaven. 

But valuable as were his labors as a pastor, it was 



278 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

as a revivalist that he found his greatest and most 
appropriate field of usefulness. He usually spent a 
large portion of the winter in revival efforts, even 
while laboring as pastor. His preaching was always 
plain, pointed, practical, searching, and well adapted 
to arrest the downward course of the sinner against 
God. He never appeared more at home, and better 
to enjoy his work, than when surrounded by mourn- 
ing penitents, whose cases he bore to a throne of 
grace, as one who was often there, and had power to 
prevail with God. He was often heard to remark 
"that, if he could only get his motives pure, he was 
just as sure of success in his revival efforts as the 
farmer is of a sure crop when he sows his seed." 
The great purpose of his life was to win souls to 
Christ, and, believing the church to be the great 
instrumentality for converting the world, he first 
strove to arouse and secure the co-operation of his 
brethren; but still he preferred laboring alone to 
co-operation with a luke-warm church. 

When, in the fall of 1861, he was about com- 
mencing the last protracted meeting he ever held, 
he gave notice in the church at the close of the 
public services, extending a cordial invitation to the 
members to come and co-operate, while he frankly 
and very distinctly told them, " that if they came 
for any other purpose, their room would be far more 
acceptable than their company." It made little 
difference to him to what particular branch of the 
church a brother belonged; if he were only filled 
with the spirit, and had a heart to labor for the sal- 
vation of sinful man, his co-operation was always 



279 

acceptable. Many of his warmest friends and cor- 
dial fellow-laborers were among the members of 
other denominations. Wherever he met the impress 
of his Savior, he was ready to say, " My brother, 
my sister." His enlarged Christian aifection, his 
passion for the conversion of souls to God, together 
with his plain, direct, earnest style of preaching, 
pointed him out as one admirably calculated to labor 
as an evangelist; and it was the conviction of his 
own mind, and also that of his most intimate friends, 
that as such he found his most appropriate sphere 
of gospel labor. 

His domestic relations were of the most happy 
character. He was married, May 21, 1856, to Miss 
Augusta M. Hinsman, a devoted Christian and 
member of the Boyd's Grove Church. This was a 
union in the Lord, and consequently proved a bless- 
ing to the parties themselves and to the cause of 
Christ. After the brief space of six years' married 
life, Mrs. McDonald mourned the loss of a most 
kind and affectionate, faithful, yet indulgent hus- 
band. Being of a kindred spirit, she, too, had a 
mind to work, and greatly did she aid her husband 
in his labors. To a friend who remarked to Mr. 
McDonald but a short time before his death, that 
it must then afford him much pleasure to look 
back upon a life of so great usefulness he replied, 
" I attribute a large share of my usefulness to my 
wife, who has always encouraged me in preaching 
and warning sinners to flee from the wrath to 
come." 

Though abounding in labors till nearly the close 



280 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

of life, he had long labored under the infirmities of 
impaired health, and a shattered constitution. His 
disease was chronic consumption, the predisposing 
cause of which was a scrofulous taint of system ; 
but the more direct and active cause, in his case, 
was an over-exertion of mind and voice in the 
preparing and delivering of his discourses. Had he 
devoted some portions of his time to manual exer- 
cise, and laid aside the cares and responsibilities 
of his calling, his life might have been prolonged 
for many years. The time he devoted to exercise 
and recreation was no relaxation from study, for his 
mind was continually on his work. 

The following is from the pen of his sorrowing 
widow: "In his last illness, he was remarkably 
calm and patient. When he felt that he could no 
longer labor for Christ, there was but one thing he 
wished to live for; that was, to see me willing to 
give him up. And when, after a severe struggle, 
I told him I would do so, with a countenance 
beaming with delight, he looked up and said, 'Oh, 
that is such a relief to me/ after which he appar- 
ently lay passive in the arms of Christ; though 
anxious to depart, he would occasionally remark, ' I 
am willing to lie and suffer as long as my Savior 
remains within me.' He often wished me to read 
to him from the Bible; he last desired me to read 
the first chapter of James, and seemed to enjoy it 
much. After which, handing me the Bible, he said: 
'This will be your friend; I think this will be my 
last Sabbath on earth.' 

" At two o'clock, next morning, we thought him 



281 

dying, and, while bending over him, he looked up 
and smilingly said, ' So peaceful and calm! I shall 
soon be at rest, at the feet of Jesus.' A few mo- 
ments before his release he prayed, 'Lord, give me 
strength to endure ; remember my dear companion ; 
may Christ be her friend and everlasting strength.' 
After which, without a struggle or a groan, he fell 
asleep. May 20, 1862, aged thirty-one, and was bur- 
ied on the sixth anniversary of our wedding day." 
Calmly and deliberately had the dying man ad- 
justed all his secular affairs, and also made all the 
arrangements for his funeral services, which were 
conducted by the Rev. Jeremiah Phillips, a returned 
missionary, in the Congregational meeting-house at 
Roseville. 

To any who read this imperfect sketch, it must be 
evident that Milton McDonald was a man of more 
than ordinary energy of character, and devotion to 
the cause of his Divine Master. With, perhaps, no 
more than a mediocrity of talent, he nobly struggled 
with and overcame early difficulties, in order to 
qualify himself for a life of usefulness, and, though 
his career on- earth was short, his life was not a 
failure. He lived for a high and holy purpose, and 
is now numbered with those who have "turned 
many to righteousness," solemnly impressed with 
the importance of his great work, and the weighty 
responsibilities resting on him. 

As an embassador for Christ, he stooped not to 

court the favor or shun the frown of his fellow 

mortals. While very decided and independent in 

the opinion he formed, and ever ready, on all 

24 



282 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

occasions, to preach the Word, he was by no means 
" the eleven o'clock preacher " to take umbrage if not 
fully appreciated. Indeed, the terms great, splendid, 
masterly, etc., were seldom, if at all, applied to his 
preaching, while good, appropriate, to the point, 
were often heard. His sermons, often literally 
studied on his knees, were always spiritual and 
Biblical, calculated to reach and move all classes 
of his hearers. In his public devotions he ap- 
proached the mercy-seat as one who had power to 
prevail with God. And none who listened to him 
could doubt his sincere belief of the great truths he 
proclaimed to others. 

We do not, however, claim that the honored 
brother of whom we write, was exempt from human 
frailty, that he either always possessed an infallible 
judgment, or a serene and unruffled temper. But, 
on the other hand, few man have more with which 
to contend. His natural temperament was sanguine, 
hasty, and passionate, and Divine grace alone was 
sufficient to enable him to control it. In his busi- 
ness transactions, he was scrupulously exact and 
upright, and while he cheerfully endured hardness 
as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, submitting to any 
and every privation, for the sake of the gospel, he 
still felt an unwillingness to subject others to like 
privations. His inextinguishable love for his work, 
rather than any pecuniary consideration, nerved his 
soul to labor for Christ. 



AUSTIN WAKEFIELD AVERY. 283 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

AUSTIN WAKEFIELD AVERY. 

Austin Wakefield Avery, son of Jacob and 
Jemima Avery, was born in the west part of the 
town of Campton, in the State of New Hampshire, 
November 18, 1838. He died in Haverhill, Mass., 
October 7, 1865. His age was accordingly only 
twenty-six years, ten months, and nineteen days. 
He was the youngest of six brothers, four of whom 
and a sister, the last named of whom he had the 
happiness to baptize, survived him. The father and 
mother only were permitted to be with him when 
he was called away. 

"At a very early age," says he, in his journal, 
"I was taught there is a heaven and there is a hell; 
and that I am a sinner — to be saved or forever lost. 
My mother, in an especial manner, taught me many 
lessons of early piety, and used frequently to take 
me by the hand, lead me away to some solitary 
place, and, kneeling by my side, pour out her soul 
in prayer to God in my behalf. At such times I 
used to think I would become a Christian ; was im- 
pressed with a sense of my obligation to God, and 
used to pray to him, feeling very happy." 

The day he was sixteen, an unusual solemnity 
rested upon his mind. Death and judgment seemed 
near. That evening he attended a prayer-meeting. 
Some of his associates invited him to the anxious 
seat. He complied, and tried to plead with the 



284 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

Lord to have niercy upon him. He could uot feel, 
however, that burden of sin that he felt when a 
child. He kept trying to live as he thought a 
Christian should live. He enjoyed peace of mind, 
until doubts began to arise as to whether he was a 
Christian. 

The winter and spring after this birthday, he was 
peculiarly active and successful in Christian effort. 
He visited from house to house, young as he was, 
to converse w T ith his acquaintances on the subject 
of religion. After prayer through the night, he 
would be off at dawn, to visit those whose cases had 
rested upon his mind in prayer, and his persistence 
was generally successful in reclaiming the backslid- 
den and in awakening the impenitent. 

Just as he entered upon his eighteenth year, he 
publicly consecrated himself to the service of the 
Lord in the church. He had intended to give him- 
self to the study of the law; but this was now 
abandoned. Having the ministry in view, he went 
in the fall of 1856 to New Hampton, to attend 
school, where he continued a year or two. He used 
to attend prayer-meetings in the different neighbor- 
hoods, and Sabbaths walked some miles to attend 
meetings, when there was no resident minister, and 
back again after the third service. He sustained 
himself at school by manual labor, sawing wood, 
and gardening, as the case might be. His diary 
mentions a pledge of five dollars made at this time, 
for the New Hampton Institution ; also, records his 
attendance during the year, at two hundred and 
twenty-five meetings. 



AUSTIN WAKEFIELD AVERY. 285 

Spring, summer, and fall of 1858, he was also at 
New Hampton, and, in addition to holding confer- 
ence-meetings, through the encouragement of several 
miuisters whom he mentions, he made appointments 
and preached several times at Bridgewater, Bristol, 
Campton, and Holderness. His efforts were every- 
where attended with success, in the awakening and 
conversion of the impenitent. 

In the fall, just before the close of the term, he 
was obliged to leave, owing to illness — trouble of 
the head and lungs — which unfitted him for study. 
He preached, however, at his home, and the adjoin- 
ing churches during the winter, and received his 
first license from the church, dated December 14, 
1858, just as he entered upon his twenty-first year. 

His health still remaining poor, and having a 
much beloved brother then in the South, who was 
unconverted, and for w r hom he felt a deep interest, 
he decided to leave home for Kentucky. Conse- 
quently, February 13, 1859, he closed his labors 
with the church in Woodstock, having preached for 
it nine w r eeks, and left home for the South, on the 
16th, reaching Paducah, Kentucky, on the 27th. 
Finding his brother ill, he immediately took his 
place in the school-room. During a stay of nine 
weeks, he supplied the pulpit of the Baptist Church 
in that city every Sabbath, as their pastor was 
absent. Besides his daily duties in the school-room, 
and his Sabbath engagements, he preached eleven 
times to an audience of colored people — slaves — 
gathered together at different times and places. 
Forty slaves at one time rose for prayer. He also 



286 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

lectured once before the " Young Men's Christian 
Union Association." 

Wishing to visit New Orleans, to see something 
more of slavery in its horrors, and not having the 
means necessary to do so, he engaged to work his 
passage down the Mississippi River on a flat-boat; 
and, on April 30, left his brother and his school 
duties, and embarked down the river. Nearly four 
weeks were consumed in the passage, which was 
very perilous, having barely escaped with their 
lives, twice from almost certain death. The captain, 
though he had run on the river for twenty years, 
said he had never made so rough a passage. 

Remaining in New Orleans only one week, he 
returned to Paducah where, witnessing his brother's 
public acknowledgment of Christ, as the result of 
his labors with him, he bade him adieu for his east- 
ward trip, arriving at home, June 30, to receive the 
sad intelligence of his brother's death at the South, 
which occurred shortly after he left, and the body 
came on only one train behind him. While at 
home he preached every Sabbath, in destitute 
churches, with scarcely if any improvement of 
health. 

September, 1859, he attended the Yearly Meeting 
at East Randolph, Vermont, and also a Quarterly 
Conference, at St. Albans, New York; after which 
he went to Dover, New Hampshire, where he 
labored with the Washington-street Church until 
December 6, a period of eleven weeks. His journal 
records fifty-one individuals as publicly requesting 
an interest in. Christ, and the names of many who 



AUSTIN WAKEFIELD AVERY. 287 

were hopefully converted. After visiting his home 
and friends, he again left them for the State of New 
York, having at that time an agency for the church 
in New York City. 

January 5, 1860, finds him in Parishville, N. Y., 
at the dedication of a new church. The interest 
was such that he remained, and the meetings were 
protracted four weeks. During this time he visited 
from house to house, preaching almost every even- 
ing, until exhausted strength and his duty as agent, 
called him away, leaving thirty happy in the Lord, 
who had found Christ, for the first time, precious. 

After an absence of one month, during which 
time he labored and preached in Colton, Lowville, 
Harrisburg, Copenhagen, West Turin, Turin, Fowler, 
and Colinsville, visiting from house to house, be- 
sides preaching twenty-one times, he returned to 
Parishville, and resumed his labors there. March 24, 
he was ordained in Parishville, New York, and on 
the next day, it being Sabbath, he baptized twenty- 
six converts. Soon after sixteen others were bap- 
tized, and joined the church. 

April 1, business carried him west to Minnesota, 
where he was detained until nearly July. During 
this time he suffered much with pain in the head, 
which prostrated him at one time for days. In 
July, he returned to Parishville, laboring with suc- 
cess; but feeling that he needed rest and relaxation, 
he attended a session of the Vermont Yearly Meet- 
ing, hoping to find one who would take his place 
with the Parishville Church. Returned to Parish- 
ville, and remained until the following December, 



288 EMINENT PREACH EES. 

when he closed his labors there. Sixty members 
had been added to the church, and many persons 
reclaimed. Besides laboring with the church, he 
held meetings and lectured in the following places : 
Macena, Fort Jackson, Hopkinton, Pierpont Hill, 
Nicholville, Dickerson, Potsdam, and Huntington, 
Vermont. 

He could endure active service better than he 
could study. The penalty of attending to the latter 
was generally distressing pains in the head and 
general debility. His remarkable success in the 
active field did not cause him to relinquish his hope 
of further education, and he determined to prosecute 
a course of study, despite his ill health. To this 
end, however, he at length, relinquishing the hope 
of attending school, made arrangements to study 
with Rev. Ransom Dunn, the pastor of the North 
Bennett-street Church in Boston. He hoped also 
to derive more or less intellectual benefit from 
lectures and public means of improvement afforded 
by such a city as Boston. Meanwhile he hoped to 
profit by experience in assisting Mr. Dunn in some 
of the duties of the pastorate. 

But, with reaching Boston with this plan in view, 
January 10, 1861, his disappointment was great 
upon finding his friend, Mr. Dunn, unable to con- 
tinue in the pastorate. The assistant was induced 
to take temporarily upon himself the duties of the 
pastorate. This step taken, he did not find the 
place of retreat from the field, though he sought it 
often and earnestly, for years. It was with hesita- 
tion he accepted the unanimous call of the church 



AUSTIN WAKEFIELD AVERY. 289 

to become its pastor in the following March. The 
burden was too much for one of his health and 
years, even if he had been content to work with 
the moderation his health demanded. But so that 
dear brother never learned, to work. It was with 
him not simply according to his strength, but far 
enough beyond it. 

In 1862, he was elected chaplain of one of the 
Massachusetts volunteer regiments. He fondly 
hoped this might be a providential indication to 
secure a change which he thought might be for his 
health, and for which change in that view he had 
been anxiously looking. But at the last moment 
the entreaties of the church prevailed, and he re- 
mained in the pastorate of the Boston Church. 
The next year he was drafted, but, being rejected 
by the surgeon, he was again disappointed. 

In the latter part of 1863, he made arrangements 
to leave the field whose duties he felt conscious were 
prostrating his strength, if not breaking his consti- 
tution. He went so far as to accept for himself 
and wife appointments under the N. E. Freedmen's 
Educational Aid Society, and Roanoke Island was 
assigned to them as their field of labor. But the 
earnest solicitations of the church, aided by his own 
strong attachment to it, again prevailed, and he still 
remained, but not without the most painful mis- 
givings on his part and that of his friends. His 
health in fact was giving away much faster than 
was apprehended by any. 

It was a very hard year for him, 1864, in failing 
health, to carry the heavy burden ; but God blessed 
25 



290 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

him with success in his labors. The last six months 
were months of anxious watching on the part of his 
anxious family. The external cares of the pastorate 
were so taxing upon his time that he was compelled 
to draw altogether too much upon the hours when 
his weary frame ought to have been at rest in sleep, 
for his pulpit preparations. It was hard for him to 
decline any work that seemed to promise to benefit 
his friends, and promote the interest of the king- 
dom of God. Notwithstanding the onerous cares 
of his pastorate, he was induced to take work out- 
side of it. 

His work on Sabbath overtaxed his nervous sys- 
tem to such a degree, it was not un frequently the 
case that he could not rest the night following till 
after midnight. His mind was so absorbed in his 
work, especially during seasons of revival interest, 
that in his sleep his voice was frequently heard in 
prayer and exhortation. Disease of the throat, 
also, at length, gave him much trouble and pain. 

March 13, 1865, he closed his labors in the pas- 
torate at Boston. It was very hard for him to 
reach that step. If ever a people were beloved by 
a pastor, it was the case of the Boston Church by 
their pastor, and it was an affection appreciated and 
reciprocated. 

Upon leaving Boston, with our short-sighted 
human view, it is absolutely painful to state that, 
so far from seeking the rest he so much needed, we 
find him, March 16, only two days later, entering 
upon his last pastorate, with the church at Haver- 
hill, Massachusetts. True, he hoped that in the 



AUSTIN WAKEFIELD AVERY. 291 

diminution of labor which the change brought him, 
he would find comparative rest. But his strength 
was too much exhausted for these favorable changes 
to serve as a substitute for rest. 

Though his physician advised, and his church 
arranged for, absence and rest, and even though he 
complied with these solicitations for a few weeks, 
so far as he could by absence, he still failed to find 
rest and improvement. He returned no better. 
The Haverhill Church for a long time had been 
been very dear to him, and his mind was bent upon 
seeing that heroic band emancipated from their 
pecuniary burdens. He entered upon the work of 
raising funds to pay off the church debt, and the 
last work he did, on the very day of going to his 
death-bed, was that of soliciting subscriptions. 
Lingering for several months, he died in the 
triumphs of Christian faith, October 7, 1865; and 
his body lies in the beautiful cemetery, on the 
banks of the Pemigewasset, far up among the hills 
of his native State. 

Short, too short indeed, we can but feel was his 
life. Very short, but strikingly useful. In his 
brief but crowded ministry, he wrought more for 
God and humanity than some useful men accomplish 
in the full measure of three score and ten. In- 
tensity seems, in his case, to furnish an^ adequate 
substitute for the absence of great space. 

Ardent in temperament, ingenuous to transpar- 
ency, and yet under self-control as to soften the 
forces of his nature till he was very gentle and 
genial in private relations, and his friendship that 



292 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

which shuns not toil and trouble for a friend, it is 
no wonder that he so unconsciously bound friends 
in great numbers to him in ties so strong that his 
name can not be forgotten while one of them sur- 
vives. His love to Christ, sincere, devout, unre- 
served, intense, his " passion for souls," and success 
in winning them to his Master, very naturally re- 
minded those who saw John Colby of that strangely 
successful evangelist. In the pulpit, he was earnest 
and energetic; in private, dealing with souls, affec- 
tionate and persuasive beyond most. 

With his talents and piety, and health sufficient 
to prosecute his studies, and especially with his 
combination of traits favorable to great influence in 
social life, he might have been borne much further 
forward to lofty and broad success than he was per- 
mitted in young years to attain. We do well to 
mourn his early death. We do well to take warning 
to exercise prudence in the care of health. But let 
us not murmur over the painful dispensation, nor 
be in haste to conclude that our brother missed his 
providential way in staying so long in Boston. 

It is good for us to remember, that the church is 
in quite as much need of examples of intensity as 
she is of highly disciplined intellects, and the solid 
usefulness that comes from long years of service in 
the kingdom and patience of our Savior. To do 
with our might what our hands find to do, is an 
exhortation we need from example, quite as often, 
to say the least, as we do to let our moderation be 
manifest. It may be that the spirit that has gone 
from us, longing as it did for the return of the 



AUSTIN WAKEFIELD AVERY. 293 

revival power of other days upon our whole denom- 
ination, has been made instrumental in kindling the 
very divine flame that extends till it becomes the 
baptism of fire for which we also long. One thing 
is certain, to feel the desire to win souls strength- 
ened day by day, it is only necessary for us to come 
in contact oftener with preachers of the temper and 
bearing of the lamented Avery. 



294 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

REUBEN VARNEY JEN NESS. 

Reuben Yarney Jenness was born May 5, 
1836, and died June 25, 1863, and was the oldest 
son of Nathaniel and Lydia Jenness. He was con- 
secrated to God in his infancy; was early instructed, 
like Timothy, in the Holy Scriptures; kept the pre- 
cepts of the decalogue, even before his conversion, 
like the young man who came to Christ, with all 
religious fidelity, especially that one which says, 
" Honor thy father and thy mother;" was never 
known to tell an untruth, or to utter an oath. In 
childhood he manifested an eagerness for books and 
a desire for religion, far in advance of his years, 
which subsequently became the ruling passion of 
his being. 

He was converted at the age of fifteen, baptized 
by his teacher, Rev. O. B. Cheney, since president 
of Bates College, and joined the Freewill Baptist 
Church at West Lebanon, Maine. He afterward 
transferred his membership to the Washington- 
street Freewill Baptist Church in Dover, N. H., 
of which he was a faithful and devoted member 
some ten years. 

In the fall following his conversion, he felt called 
of God to preach the gospel, and, feeling the woe 
resting upon his young and tender heart, made the 
trial and succeeded, though with fear and trembling; 
but afterward, becoming more or less discouraged, 



REUBEN VARNEY JENNESS. 295 

he abandoned the idea for the time being at least, 
and applied himself fiiligently to study, that he 
might be qualified intellectually, as well as morally 
and spiritually, for the great work of life, whatever 
it might be. 

He prepared for college principally at South Ber- 
wick, Maine, under the tuition of Dr. Grey, who 
said of him that, if he lived, he was destined to be 
one of the finest scholars in New England. After 
preparing one year in advance, he entered at Han- 
over, and graduated with high honors in the class 
of ; 59. He was very useful while in college. His 
life, being spiritual and devoted, was a perpetual 
sermon to his classmates; and his influence over 
them was salutary, and his example worthy of all 
imitation. He was highly esteemed, by all who 
knew him, for his moral and Christian excellence. 
During his academic and collegiate course, he 
proved himself a judicious and efficient teacher of 
the young. 

After his graduation, he went to New Hampton, 
and taught there one year, and then entered the 
Biblical School. Shortly after commencing his 
theological course, he was appointed to the office of 
Tutor in Dartmouth "College. But his heart had 
become so imbued with the spirit of his Master, 
that he wisely declined that honor for the infinitely 
higher honor of preaching the unsearchable riches of 
Christ to his fellow-men. He graduated in theology 
a little less than one year before his death. He was 
married, July 29, 1862, to Miss Emily C. Smith, of 
East Randolph, Vermont. 



296 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

While pursuing his theological course, he preached, 
at least a part of the time, 'at South Strafford, Yt. 
Before closing it, however, he went to Manchester, 
where he was ordained pastor of the Pine-street 
Freewill Baptist Church in that city, September 10, 
1862. He preached there about one year, when 
failing health compelled him to leave. A fatal dis- 
ease was preying upon him, and he knew it not. 
His friends became anxious; but he was not aware 
of his condition until the work of destruction was 
nearly complete. Still he was ready. His prepa- 
ration for life was a constant preparative for death. 
He kept his lamp trimmed and his light burning 
continually, with a full supply of oil in his vessel. 
He was a bright and shining light, a living epistle, 
known and read of all men, having Christ formed 
within, the hope of glory. It can be truly said of 
him, as it was of Barnabas, he was a good man, and 
full of the Holy Ghost, and of faith. Every faculty 
of his mind, every energy of his heart, and every 
power of his being were entirely consecrated to 
God. It was his meat and drink to do the will of 
his Master. He gloried in the cross of Christ. The 
law of God was sweet to his taste, and he delighted 
to walk in his testimonies. For him to live was 
Christ, for while he was present in the body, he 
w 7 as absent from the Lord; but now he is absent 
from the body and present with the Lord. 

He was not only a good man, and a consistent, 
faithful, and devoted Christian; but he was more. 
He was a close student, a thorough scholar, an able 
writer, and an acceptable speaker. He was an 



REUBEN VARNEY .TENNESS. 297 

earnest advocate for an educated ministry, a true 
and abiding friend of missions, and especially of 
foreign missions. He was thorough in his anti- 
slavery views, sound in theology, a firm supporter 
of our national government in the hour of its peril ; 
was deeply interested in all the benevolent enter- 
prises of the day, and did what he could to sustain 
them. He was thoroughly denominational, being 
strongly attached to the people of his early choice; 
but he possessed a catholic spirit withal. He was 
emphatically a growing man; and had he been 
spared, would probably have filled, and nobly filled, 
one of the most responsible places in the denomi- 
nation; but the Lord had some more important 
work for him to do, and hence his removal to a 
higher sphere of activity. He was not only quali- 
fied for the labors and responsibilities of earth, but 
also for the higher service of heaven. 

He made no great stir where he went ; but, rather, 
was modest, quiet, and retiring. Time alone could 
reveal his real worth. Those who knew him best 
loved him most, and none knew him but to respect 
him. He never flashed like a rocket, nor blazed 
like a meteor ; but always shone like a star of the 
first magnitude. Faults and imperfections he had, 
doubtless; but they were not sufficiently prominent 
to either mar the beauty of his life, or the symmetry 
of his character. 

His strength of mind and force of character were 
more strikingly manifest in writing than speaking. 
As a speaker, he did not excel ; but, as a writer, he 
had few superiors of his age, especially in the de- 



298 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

nomination. He began to write for the Morning 
Star at the early age of sixteen, and continued his 
contributions to the close of life. At the time of 
his decease, he was an associate editor of the Quar- 
terly, whose pages he helped to enrich from his 
mental treasury, and also a member of the Foreign 
Mission Board. 

His hopes were high, his aspirations lofty, and 
his prospects for usefulness in this life exceedingly 
bright ; but, alas, how soon the scene is changed ! 
" Man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go 
about the streets." Well may the Star, the Quarterly, 
the denomination, the church of Christ, and the 
world, mourn the loss of such a man, of whose life, 
labors, influence, and example they are now forever 
bereft. Why was he taken, and upon whom shall 
his mantle fall? 

He left to mourn their irreparable loss a com- 
panion, father, mother, brother, and sister, besides 
numerous other relatives and friends. Funeral 
services at the Washington-street Church, Dover. 
Sermon by Rev. W. Vary, from the words, — " What 
I do thou knowest not; but thou shalt know here- 
after." Several ministers were present, who took 
part in the services, which were solemn and im- 
pressive, and all the more so from the relation 
which the departed had sustained to that church for 
so many years, as one of its most spiritual and 
gifted members. 



BENJAMIN BURLEIGH SMITH. 299 

CHAPTER XXX. 

BENJAMIN BURLEIGH SMITH. 

Mr. Smith was born at Sandwich, New Hamp- 
shire, March 20, 1820. Of his childhood and early 
youth, little is known, save this, that he had a pious 
mother who gave him religious instruction. At the 
age of eighteen, he experienced the new birth ; and 
very soon after this change was wrought in his 
heart by the Holy Spirit, he began to feel that it 
might be his duty to preach the gospel. The Master 
was calling his youthful servant, in the freshness 
and fervor of his early consecration, to a great 
work ; but grave doubts beset his path, and the dark- 
ness at times was oppressive. 

Ten years passed, all the while his mind more or 
less deeply exercised on this most important subject. 
It was the discipline of doubt of which Sir William 
Hamilton has philosophized so beautifully, and 
which thousands, who could not philosophize, have 
experienced. These ten years were devoted alter- 
nately to attending and teaching school, and the 
habits of study then formed, marked the whole 
future life of Mr. Smith. 

The struggle against strong convictions of duty 
was now abandoned, and he calmly and firmly de- 
cided, by the help of God, to consecrate his life to 
the work of the Christian ministry. The victory 
was won, and those grievous doubts never recurred. 
"With his life-purpose clearly in view, his loins 



300 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

girded for toil, lie felt the need of special training 
for a calling so significant, and applied for admis- 
sion to the Biblical School at Whitestown, N. Y. 
In thorough earnest he entered upon the prescribed 
course of theological study, and, having successfully 
completed it, was honorably graduated from the 
institution. 

His attention had previously been attracted to the 
condition and claims of the pagan world, and his 
studies at Whitestown served to foster and make 
more deep and intense the desire of his heart to 
labor for the heathen; so that, in October, 1851, we 
find him at the Anniversary meeting of the Foreign 
Mission Society, held at Lebanon, Maine, for the 
purpose of offering his services to the Mission in 
Orissa. Having been examined and accepted by the 
Board, as a Missionary to India, he immediately set 
himself to making the necessary preparations for 
leaving his native land. A few months later, in 
August, 1852, he and Mrs. Smith sailed from Boston 
for Calcutta. 

The first station assigned Mr. Smith was Balasore, 
and that was the scene of his labors during his 
whole missionary career. After nine years of service 
in this unfriendly climate, illness obliged him to 
return for a season to his native land. Health came 
to his enervated frame, and with it the ardent desire 
to resume his work in Orissa. Re-appointed to the 
Mission field, he reached Balasore at the close of 
1869. And there, in his own house, after three 
more years of toil and much suffering, he fell at his 
post, on the 22d of November, 1872, aged fifty-two 



BENJAMIN BUKLEIGH SMITH. 301 

years and eight months. His grave is close by the 
Mission chapel, where he loved to preach. 

Aside from the simple facts here narrated, it is 
fitting to say a few words concerning the good and 
faithful laborer, whose death inflicted a heavy blow 
on the Mission which he served so faithfully for 
twelve years. Much loved and respected by his 
colleagues throughout his whole term of missionary 
service, they have most cheerfully testified to those 
kindly qualities of heart, which bound him to his 
associates as a brother beloved in the Lord, and a 
choice and cherished friend. All who knew and 
loved him can not forget those traits of character 
which marked him as a modest, sincere, and earnest 
Christian worker. 

Mr. Smith was a man of few words, but great 
industry. While his quiet, unassuming manner won 
the admiration of observers, it no doubt enabled 
him to accomplish far more in his chosen work. 
Ever busy at something good, this seemed to be his 
life-motto, and his daily walk proved how well he 
learned at the feet of the Great Teacher, who " went 
about doing good." It was often thought that Mr. 
Smith experienced much of the blessedness — the 
very luxury of doing good — and knew more than 
many seem to know the deep and precious signifi- 
cance of the words of the Lord Jesus, when he said, 
" It is more blessed to give than to receive." He 
not only did his work, but he delighted in doing it, 
and he devoutly thanked God for the privilege of 
working to save souls. 

Another distinguishing trait of Mr. Smith's char- 



302 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

acter was his conscientious faithfulness in dealing 
with the members of his flock. One might have 
thought that so calm and humble a man could 
hardly administer reproof; but offenders knew how 
deep his well-weighed words went, and how hard it 
was to forget them. Still, no one doubted that it 
was done in love. Combined with this trait, there 
was another which lay back of it, and was the 
mainspring of action. This was his thorough devo- 
tion to the best interests of the Mission. He looked 
upon the work committed to his hands as a sacred 
trust, and it was the firm purpose of his life to be 
true to it. He labored most unselfishly and zeal- 
ously for the building up of the church of Christ 
in Orissa. In each department of a missionary's 
duty — and how many such there are in a field like 
India — he took a hearty interest, and tried to do his 
best. Naturally fond of mechanics, he took a great 
pleasure in the Balasore Industrial School, and the 
lads under instruction there will ever keep fresh in 
mind how hard he tried to make of them intelligent 
and independent men, who should fear God and do 
good in the world. 

A cheerful hopefulness pervaded the life of this 
servant of God. He loved to look always on the 
bright side. To a teacher perplexed or discouraged, 
to a native preacher in trouble, or to a missionary 
brother struggling with difficulties and doubts, he 
could always speak some word of cheer, and point 
so trustingly, even triumphantly, to the precious 
promises that never fail. His last year was one of 
embarrassment to the Mission. Sometimes it would 



BENJAMIN BURLEIGH SMITH. 303 

seem that the home churches had well nigh for- 
gotten the missionary enterprise. The home se- 
cretary was discouraged, and his letters most dis- 
heartening. The prospect was dark enough. Bat 
Mr. Smith's oft-repeated remark was this : " Let 
each of us do his duty; God will bring all out 
right." So he believed, and so he sought to teach 
others. 

The very briefest sketch of him would be incom- 
plete without mention of the crowning feature of 
his life, which was a genuine, hearty love for his 
work. This it was that kept him at his post, when 
he might have been justified in leaving it on 
account of serious illness. This shone through all 
hfs words and work. Disease did not quench his 
love for Christ, and these perishing souls of his 
charge. He counted it even a joy to surfer for 
Christ's sake in this his chosen field. When re- 
peatedly urged to leave his station for a season of 
relaxation and rest, he chose to stay and work 
there to the last, and his wish was granted him. 

The last three years of Mr. Smith's life, in India, 
were attended with much physical pain. Disease, 
in an aggravated form, brought the poor, patient 
sufferer more than once to the very verge of the 
grave. Again and again, in answer to many prayers, 
strength was given him to rally, and fond hopes of 
recovery were revived. Though brought thus face 
to face with death, he still clung to the hope, that 
he might yet have many days for labor in Orissa. 
Indeed, not until the last week of his life did he 
realize that the time of his departure was at hand. 



304 EMINENT PREACHERS. 

A month very pleasantly spent at Benares, in the 
home of E. J. Lazarus, M. D., seemed to prove 
beneficial; but ere he reached Balasore, the old foe 
attacked him again most fiercely. He was very 
kindly cared for by friends at Calcutta, until able 
to proceed further. Resting a little at each of the 
intervening stations, he at last got back to his own 
house. But he was carried to his chamber to die. 
It pleased God not to detain his servant long in 
this scene of suffering. His last days were made 
pleasant by the generous care and friendly interest 
of the kind residents of the station. The skillful 
civil surgeon could not have been kinder or ten- 
derer in his attention had he been a brother. But 
not medical science and art, nor the bountiful care 
of fond friends could beat back the approach of the 
last enemy. 

Death never found a calm believer in Christ 
readier to depart. On the dying-bed he did not 
forget to speak words of cheer and comfort to those 
members of the Mission circle whose privilege it 
was to attend him in his last moments. To one at 
another station, he sent the hopeful message, so like 

himself, " Tell to trust in the Lord." His 

last utterance was this : " Oh, bless His holy name 
for ever ! " Thus peacefully and triumphantly did 
he bid adieu to the scenes of his earthly pilgrimage. 



